Crucial Newcastle United fixture will feature historic Premier League change, it will impact Alexander Isak

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St. James’ Park will witness Premier League history when Newcastle United take on Manchester United in April.

Newcastle United’s partying after finally getting their hands on their first trophy for seven decades in the Carabao Cup has finally come to an end, with Eddie Howe’s side taking on Brentford on Wednesday.

It was a challenging evening in Newcastle’s return to Premier League action, but Alexander Isak’s first-half strike and a bizarre goal from Sandro Tonali sealed an important three points.

The 2-1 victory saw the Magpies rise to 5th in the Premier League table and take a big step forward in the race for a Champions League place.

Newcastle will have to maintain their strong form for the rest of the campaign to ensure they return to Europe’s top competition, with Chelsea, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Brighton all battling it out.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	30	22	7	1	70	27	43	73
2	ArsenalArsenal	30	17	10	3	55	25	30	61
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	30	17	6	7	50	35	15	57
4	Man CityManchester City	30	15	6	9	57	40	17	51
5	NewcastleNewcastle	29	15	5	9	49	39	10	50
6	ChelseaChelsea	29	14	7	8	53	37	16	49
7	Aston VillaAston Villa	30	13	9	8	44	45	-1	48
8	BrightonBrighton	30	12	11	7	48	45	3	47

Every game is important but the upcoming clash with Manchester United at St. James’ Park is massive and not just because Newcastle need the win.

The long-awaited semi-automated offside technology will be officially launched in the Premier League on the weekend of April 12 and will be used in the fixture.

Newcastle United vs Manchester United will use semi-automated offsides

The Premier League confirmed earlier this week that the technology will finally be utilised in the competition after a successful trial period.

The technology, which has already been used at the 2022 World Cup as well as in the Champions League, automatically places the offside lines and drastically reduces the time it takes for VAR to confirm or deny a contentious goal.

Newcastle’s game with United on Sunday, April 12, will be the first time it’s used in the league at St. James’ Park.

A statement from the Premier League said: “Semi-automated offside technology automates key elements of the offside decision-making process to support the video assistant referee (VAR).

“It provides more efficient placement of the virtual offside line, using optical player tracking, and generates virtual graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for fans.

“The technology maintains the integrity of the process while enhancing the speed, efficiency, and consistency of offside decision-making.

“The Premier League has worked in collaboration with PGMOL and sports data and technology company Genius Sports to develop the new semi-automated offside technology system.”

New Premier League change will impact Alexander Isak

The new changes will likely have a bigger impact on Isak than any other player in the squad.

Isak has been caught offside far more than any other Newcastle player this season by a significant distance, with 19. Anthony Gordon is his closest competitor with just seven.

In fact, only two players have been flagged more than Isak in the entire league: Chris Wood on 21 and Dominic Calvert-Lewin with a huge 27.

Isak is caught offside so often because when he isn’t dropping deep to link up the play, he’s instead standing on the shoulder of defenders and hoping to be played through on goal with a killer pass.

Living life so close to the edge inevitably leads to tight offside decisions, which, without the new technology, could still be inaccurate and take ages to determine.

However, with semi-automated off-sides, Isak will at least know with greater clarity if any marginal offside call is correct or not and the game shouldn’t have to be paused too long to find out.