Manchester United missing key man for Boxing Day clash at Old Trafford - A boost for Newcastle United
Newcastle United and Manchester United play out the only Boxing Day fixture this season with an 8 pm kick-off at Old Trafford live on Sky Sports.
Manchester United have been hit and miss this season, but there's a marked improvement on last year as Ruben Armorim seems to finally be getting to grips with his team.
Meanwhile, Newcastle have been strong in cup competitions but weak in the Premier League, especially away from home.
Therefore, Newcastle will be looking for any help they can get on Boxing Day down at Old Trafford.
Manchester United's record without Bruno Fernandes isn't great
Ruben Amorim has confirmed that he will be missing some key players on Friday night, one of whom is none other than the fake Bruno, Bruno Fernandes.
Arguably Man United's best player, his absence will be felt by Amorim's side, and it should come as a bit of a boost to Eddie Howe.
That being said, Newcastle aren't exactly at full strength themselves with the likes of Tino Livramento, Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn all sidelined among others.
Newcastle have the better of Man United under Eddie Howe
Eddie Howe was even hinting that he was going to be cautious about playing Lewis Hall over the Christmas period, given his recent minor setback, but with no other options, he's likely to start on Friday.
Howe's got a good record against Manchester United since taking over at St James' Park with just two defeats in nine games, one of those was at Wembley of course, so we could go into this one with some confidence.
Beating Man United would be a very welcome late Christmas present for the Geordie nation. You can do this, lads!
