What to watch for: Manchester United vs. Newcastle United

José Mourinho and his side will be ready for a battle.

Newcastle United aim to end their poor run of form on Saturday, when they travel to face Manchester United at Old Trafford. The Magpies have failed to score a goal in each of their last two Premier League fixtures, and manager Rafa Benitez will need his players to be at their absolute best to earn a result.

Kick-off is set for 5:30 PM local time, and will undoubtedly feature a spectacular atmosphere. Following the international break, both clubs enter the contest after a frustrating loss in their previous league game.

Newcastle dropped all three points at home in a 1-0 defeat against AFC Bournemouth, while the Red Devils lost by the same scoreline at Chelsea.

Manchester United are currently second in the table, while the Magpies are 11th.

The home side will certainly provide a serious test for Benitez’s squad, boasting the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the attack.

Newcastle’s midfield and defence must be able to absorb pressure, and find creative ways to put themselves in solid scoring positions.

Unfortunately, that approach has not been very successful over the past few weeks at St. James’ Park.

A struggling attack

Strikers Joselu and Dwight Gayle have been disappointing at the top of the line-up, and more will be necessary to find anything from Saturday’s match.

Expect to see some type of change to the approach or the personnel from Benitez in order to create a spark in the final third, maybe even giving Aleksandar Mitrovic another opportunity (I mean, it’s not like he’s scoring goals for his country or anything).

The injury list has been growing as well. Jamaal Lascelles, Christian Atsu and Mikel Merino will all be unavailable this weekend.

Next: Rafa Benitez should be furious with recent Atsu injury

Newcastle know that a visit to Manchester United will not be easy. To avoid a third consecutive loss, true heroics will be required from Rafa Benitez’s team.