Saturday Night Football in the Premier League comes from St James' Park as Newcastle host Manchester United, two sides hoping to rebound from various degrees of Champions League heartache in midweek.
Newcastle vs Man Utd Betting Tips
- Draw @ 14/5 with BetMGM
- Bruno Fernandes to be booked at 12/5 with BetMGM
- Anthony Gordon to score first @ 7/1 with BetMGM
All odds are courtesy of BetMGM, correct at the time of publishing and subject to change.
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The Magpies were VAR-victims in Paris after an almighty defensive effort saw them shutting out Kylian Mbappe and his Paris-St-Germain teammates for more than 95 minutes.
Man Utd, for their part, came unstuck in the Turkish rain, being twice unable to protect a two-goal advantage against gung-ho Galatasaray in a six-goal thriller.
Both Eddie Howe and Erik ten Hag might be glad of the extra few hours recovery time for this 20:00 Saturday night tussle in the north-east.
Stalemate looks best at St James'
There's sure to be a fervent atmosphere for this one at St James' Park on a Saturday night with the festive season approaching.
Newcastle won at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup a month ago and were 2-0 winners in this fixture back in April, with Man Utd having edged them 2-0 in the EFL Cup decider at Wembley in February.
In the previous season, both Premier League games between this pair ended level and a draw looks the most appealing outcome here.
The home side are odds-on 19/20 for the win, despite an injury list that could see Eddie Howe minus as many as 11 possible first-teamers.
They were down to the bare bones in Paris, managing to name only five outfield subs – four of them teenagers.
Similarly, Ten Hag has his own lengthy list of absentees, with Mason Mount, Christian Eriksen, Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez amongst eight expected to be missing.
Man Utd are the Premier League's Jekyll and Hyde side this season - with eight wins and five losses, they are the only side yet to draw.
Newcastle's only dropped points at home so far came in a 1-2 reverse against Liverpool when they contrived to lose after going ahead against ten men.
The Red Devils have won four on the spin away, though hardly in inspiring style at the likes of Burnley, Fulham and Sheffield United before the 3-0 win over Everton last weekend - a game in which the Toffees were profligate.
Newcastle have been defensively rock-solid, as shown in Paris, but United have scored in every away game since Spurs in August - eight across all competitions - and can inflict some damage.
Given the injury lists and the likely hangovers from European disappointments, a stalemate could be on the cards here.
Newcastle vs Man Utd Tip 1: Draw @ 14/5 with BetMGM
Fernandes can fall foul of the referee
Bruno Fernandes collected his sixth yellow card of the season in Istanbul on Wednesday, going in the referee's notebook before the half-hour for a cheap foul.
By then, the United skipper had already contributed a long-range thunderbolt that gave them a 2-0 lead but his foul - and booking - led to Hakim Ziyech trimming that lead.
That was Fernandes' second booking in the Champions League to go with four already in the Premier League this season.
Interestingly, Fernandes accumulated five of his yellow cards in the Premier League last season by the end of October (five in 12 games). That earned him a suspension and just one more caution followed.
He's one off serving another ban now and in the intimidating atmosphere of St James' Park, he might well earn it.
For a playmaker not associated with the more physical side of the game, he comes to the referee's attention far too often and captaining Manchester United hasn't managed to diminish that.
Newcastle vs Man Utd Tip 2: Bruno Fernandes to be booked at 12/5 with BetMGM
Gordon decent value to net first
Anthony Gordon has started to prove his worth for Newcastle this season and has netted in his last three Premier League appearances at St James' Park in wins over Crystal Palace, Arsenal and Chelsea.
He has predominantly played off the left wing in those games and the Magpies came unstuck when he featured more centrally at Bournemouth recently.
He has five goals in 12 games so far - a marked rise on his four in 32 for Everton and Newcastle last season - and the 22-year-old is beginning to look like money well spent.
He is getting a real run in the team now, playing every minute of Newcastle's last four in the league and that Parisian tussle in midweek.
With numbers stretched, a rest doesn't look likely here. He can surely fashion chances against this Red Devils side.
Newcastle vs Man Utd Tip 3: Anthony Gordon to score first @ 7/1 with BetMGM