'Absolutely sick': Chris Sutton reflects on Newcastle United's last fixture as he predicts who will win on Boxing Day
Newcastle United and Manchester United will face off in the Premier League on Boxing Day as the only fixture being played that day, a break with tradition.
The game will get underway at 8 pm under the lights at Old Trafford, live on Sky Sports, in a change to recent years where there's usually a full fixture list on Boxing Day. The change has been made with Boxing Day falling on a Friday, and some issue with the TV rights holders who seem to have more power than the actual Premier League itself.
Still, Newcastle get to be traditional at least, and games against Man United are often entertaining, while under Eddie Howe, they usually end positively for the boys in black and white.
However, recent form means we may go into this one with some trepidation.
Chris Sutton backs Newcastle to scrape a victory on Friday
Chris Sutton doesn't think Newcastle need worry too much, particularly given Ruben Amorim will be missing Bruno Fernandes, as he predicts a win for the Magpies in his column for the BBC.
"Manchester United got a bit of praise for their performance against Aston Villa, even though they were beaten.
"The key to how this game goes is what they do without Bruno Fernandes, and how they are going to cope without him.
"You look around Ruben Amorim's squad and he does not seem to have a lot of leaders in there.
"It will be interesting to see if Amorim plays centre-back Lisandro Martinez in that holding midfield role, the same job he did when he came on for Fernandes against Villa, because he could provide that leadership they will need.
"Newcastle United will be absolutely sick that they let a two-goal lead slip against Chelsea last week, while their away record has a lot of room for improvement - they have won only one of their eight away league games so far.
"Manchester United are three points and four places above them in the table, but they are missing a few players at the Africa Cup of Nations and, in my mind, Newcastle United have the better squad anyway.
"Because of that, I am going to back Eddie Howe's side here. There won't be many goals, though, and they may only need to score one to win it.
"Sutton's prediction: 0-1"
We aren't sure Chris Sutton's low-scoring prediction will come to pass
We're not sure about Sutton's prediction that there won't be many goals. That hasn't been the way for Newcastle of late, being leaky at the back and at least half-decent going forward.
Newcastle are starting to gel in the forward positions, and with Yoane Wissa back fit, we now have more options and different ways to get the ball into the net.
Having said that, we'd gladly take a 1-0 win right now.
