Manchester United will host Newcastle United in less than two weeks.
The only Premier League match to be held on Boxing Day this season.
A not-so-friendly 8pm kick-off for the long-distance traveling fans of Newcastle United (and Manchester United!) on that Friday evening, December 26.
It will have been almost exactly a year since Manchester United last hosted Newcastle United, when 73,809 spectators at Old Trafford watched as United blew the hosts 2-0 behind inside 19 minutes and it could have been four or five.
Manchester United somehow fell just two goals behind at half-time and although Newcastle United remained the better side, Eddie Howe’s side moved closer to victory after the break.
Interesting updates ahead of this Boxing Day (night) match at Old Trafford, which will affect player availability.
Bryan Mbeumo has proven to be Manchester United’s best signing this summer and comfortably their best player, while he is Man U’s top scorer with six goals.
Bryan Mbeumo will start all fifteen Premier League games so far with Cameroon at AFCON (the African Cup of Nations) instead of against Newcastle United on Boxing Day.
Amad Diallo is perhaps Manchester United’s second best attacking player. He started 13 of their 15 league games and came on as a substitute in another, he will be with Ivory Coast at AFCON.
Noussair Mazraoui has played nine Premier League games this season and for me he is one of their best defenders; he will be at AFCON with Morocco.
Newcastle United fans know from the past how damaging it can be mid-season when key players, especially attacking players, are unavailable for this part of such an important part of the season. Cisse, Ba and Tiote were sorely missed at the time.
But good news on this front for Newcastle United AND not so good for Manchester United.
While Man U will be without three big players on Boxing Day, this could all fall perfectly for NUFC with Yoane Wissa.
Illness has helped reduce the number of minutes he played from the bench against Leverkusen on Wednesday, but now there are two sub appearances and two games remaining for Old Trafford, perhaps the script written for Yoane Wissa to give Manchester United even more AFCON blues as they miss their star trio.
The striker has opted to stay at Newcastle United in December and January rather than disappear for five weeks before the African Cup of Nations.
A huge boost for United, a period that will include so many important games.
We hope Eddie Howe can repeat the Manchester United 0 Newcastle United 2 score and performance at Old Trafford last December.
Fingers crossed that Manchester United (and others not a million miles away from Tyneside) will experience an AFCON-affected festive period.
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