Manchester United Sure Can Beat Against Newcastle United at Wednesday, January 4
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew’s ever depleting squad was hit with another blow on Friday night when right winger Gabriel Obertan was forced off with a reoccurrence of a toe injury during the 3-1 defeat at Liverpool.
This opens the door for a variety of different possibilities and formations as regular left-back Ryan Taylor could now take Obertan’s place on the right wing, with Davide Santon coming in to fill the gap in defence. Another option is the return of exciting youngster Shane Ferguson to that right-wing role. Pardew could throw us another curveball, something he isn’t afraid to do after such decisions to play Shola Ameobi on the right, and could reinstate Peter Lovenkrands and put him on the right.
It was a very unhappy birthday for Sir Alex Ferguson on Saturday as he saw his side collapse to a 3-2 defeat to bottom club Blackburn. Strange tactical decisions, such as putting Rafael in centre midfield, and another goalkeeping error from David de Gea did not help matters, but Sir Alex must have thought his selection were good enough to beat Steve Kean’s men.
(Newcastle United - Manchester United Preview: Hosts Have Not Won In 18 League Games Against Champions)
Alan Pardew's men could have climbed to sixth with a win over Liverpool but they succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at Anfield last start, while the Red Devils were stunned 3-2 by Blackburn at Old Trafford in the biggest upset of the season.
United's slip-up against Rovers was not punished by rivals Manchester City - who lost to Sunderland on Sunday - meaning Sir Alex Ferguson's men can still go top of the table if they avoid defeat against the Magpies.
United will regain the services of top scorer Wayne Rooney (13 goals), after the Englishman served a one-game suspension inflicted by Ferguson after he found the striker - along with team-mates Jonny Evans and Darron Gibson - breached team rules.
Rooney's ban allowed Dimitar Berbatov another chance to start for United, and his brace against Blackburn saw him bring his recent tally to six goals in three games to finish 2011 in a flurry.
United are still without Evans, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Young, Darren Fletcher, Chris Smalling, Nemanja Vidic, Fabio, Michael Owen, Tom Cleverley and Bebe due to injury.
Newcastle will be missing Nile Ranger, Peter Lovenkrands, Danny Guthrie, Steven Taylor and Sylvain Marveaux.
(Premier League preview: Newcastle v Manchester United)
Newcastle are in seventh place, four points behind Liverpool, who beat them 3-1 at Anfield on Friday night.
Tiote – who fears this will be his last game before he has to link up with his Ivory Coast team-mates ahead of the tournament – believes a challenge for a European place is still on the cards.
“It’s realistic to talk about a challenge for Europe,” said Tiote. “We’re still in a good position in the table. If we play like we know we can, and how we started the season, it’s possible and we can do something.
“I still think we can achieve Europe this season.
The Manchester United fixture hasn’t been kind to Newcastle in recent years, with their last success the 4-3 victory under Sir Bobby Robson in September 2001 when Laurent Robert and Rob Lee were among the scorers.
Tiote was frustrated at the Liverpool defeat, as United had briefly led at Anfield.
He is ready to take that frustration on Ferguson’s side, who he believes are beatable at St James’s Park.
(Newcastle United’s Cheik Tiote looks for winning send off)
This opens the door for a variety of different possibilities and formations as regular left-back Ryan Taylor could now take Obertan’s place on the right wing, with Davide Santon coming in to fill the gap in defence. Another option is the return of exciting youngster Shane Ferguson to that right-wing role. Pardew could throw us another curveball, something he isn’t afraid to do after such decisions to play Shola Ameobi on the right, and could reinstate Peter Lovenkrands and put him on the right.
It was a very unhappy birthday for Sir Alex Ferguson on Saturday as he saw his side collapse to a 3-2 defeat to bottom club Blackburn. Strange tactical decisions, such as putting Rafael in centre midfield, and another goalkeeping error from David de Gea did not help matters, but Sir Alex must have thought his selection were good enough to beat Steve Kean’s men.
(Newcastle United - Manchester United Preview: Hosts Have Not Won In 18 League Games Against Champions)
Alan Pardew's men could have climbed to sixth with a win over Liverpool but they succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at Anfield last start, while the Red Devils were stunned 3-2 by Blackburn at Old Trafford in the biggest upset of the season.
United's slip-up against Rovers was not punished by rivals Manchester City - who lost to Sunderland on Sunday - meaning Sir Alex Ferguson's men can still go top of the table if they avoid defeat against the Magpies.
United will regain the services of top scorer Wayne Rooney (13 goals), after the Englishman served a one-game suspension inflicted by Ferguson after he found the striker - along with team-mates Jonny Evans and Darron Gibson - breached team rules.
Rooney's ban allowed Dimitar Berbatov another chance to start for United, and his brace against Blackburn saw him bring his recent tally to six goals in three games to finish 2011 in a flurry.
United are still without Evans, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Young, Darren Fletcher, Chris Smalling, Nemanja Vidic, Fabio, Michael Owen, Tom Cleverley and Bebe due to injury.
Newcastle will be missing Nile Ranger, Peter Lovenkrands, Danny Guthrie, Steven Taylor and Sylvain Marveaux.
(Premier League preview: Newcastle v Manchester United)
Newcastle are in seventh place, four points behind Liverpool, who beat them 3-1 at Anfield on Friday night.
Tiote – who fears this will be his last game before he has to link up with his Ivory Coast team-mates ahead of the tournament – believes a challenge for a European place is still on the cards.
“It’s realistic to talk about a challenge for Europe,” said Tiote. “We’re still in a good position in the table. If we play like we know we can, and how we started the season, it’s possible and we can do something.
“I still think we can achieve Europe this season.
The Manchester United fixture hasn’t been kind to Newcastle in recent years, with their last success the 4-3 victory under Sir Bobby Robson in September 2001 when Laurent Robert and Rob Lee were among the scorers.
Tiote was frustrated at the Liverpool defeat, as United had briefly led at Anfield.
He is ready to take that frustration on Ferguson’s side, who he believes are beatable at St James’s Park.
(Newcastle United’s Cheik Tiote looks for winning send off)
