Pardew expects entertainment as Newcastle host Manchester United

Oct 7, 2012 11:15:00 AM

The Toon boss is expecting a game filled with creativity and flair as the Magpies host the Red Devils, who suffered a shock 3-2 home defeat to Tottenham last time out

Alan Pardew is expecting an entertaining game as his Newcastle side host a strong Manchester United squad on Sunday.

The Magpies go into the game without their first-choice goalkeeper Tim Krul, who is still ruled out through injury, as are their captain, Fabricio Coloccini, and fellow centre-back Steven Taylor.

But Pardew recognises that Manchester United's defence will not be at full strength either, telling his club' official website: "Manchester United have had defensive issues and they've got injuries in that area, with [Nemanja] Vidic and [Phil] Jones.

"You cannot imagine it's going to be 0-0.

"I'm sure Sir Alex Ferguson will have worked on his back four, as we have, to make sure they are as drilled as possible.

"But with such brilliant flair players on the pitch as [Wayne] Rooney, Chicharito, [Robin] van Persie, Demba Ba, Papiss [Cisse] and [Hatem] Ben Arfa, you can't expect it to be anything but an entertaining game."

Both teams come into the game following midweek victories in Europe, Newcastle having beaten Bordeaux 3-0 at home in the Europa League, while Manchester United came from 1-0 down in Romania to turn their game around, winning 2-1 against Cluj and claiming all three points in a Champions League clash.

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