Newcastle United are gearing up to face Manchester United in a crucial clash at St James’ Park on Sunday.
The Magpies are aiming to extend their run of wins to five in all competitions after breezing past Leicester City last Monday and keep their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League high.
Newcastle United currently find themselves fifth in the Premier League table with a game in hand over their top five rivals. They can move closer to Nottingham Forest in third place with a win and if results elsewhere go their way.
Anthony Gordon remains a doubt for Newcastle after sustaining heavy bruising in his hip and groin area while on international duty. Newcastle assistant manager Jason Tindall confirmed Gordon has trained but will be assessed as to whether he will make the cut for Sunday’s game.
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Elsewhere, Joe Willock is definitely out for Newcastle, having suffered a concussion.
For Manchester United, the season has been one to forget both on and off the pitch. Results have been far from ideal, and failings in the transfer window and staffing department led to former Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth’s sacking just five months after he took the job.
With their visit to St James’ Park on the horizon, a new report has confirmed that Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim is set to make a major change to his starting lineup.
Ruben Amorim to drop Andre Onana for Newcastle trip amid poor form
Andre Onana has had a tough time in the North West since joining from Inter Milan in 2023. The shot-stopper has found himself in the firing line after making several mistakes this season, including two errors against Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Despite his blunders, Onana has played in all of Man United’s Premier League games this season, but according to a new report from the Daily Mail, his run in the starting XI could be coming to an end against the Magpies.
The report states that Amorim is considering taking Onana out of his side for the trip to St James’ Park, with Altay Bayandir prepared to take the reins if need be.
As well as Onana, Amorim is reportedly set to make ‘a number’ of changes to his starting XI for the game.
With Man United 13th in the table and having a very small chance of qualifying for Europe, the time for Amorim to experiment to his lineup has come, and it has come against the Magpies.
Newcastle are aiming to make history against Man United, by beating them twice in a league season for the first time since the 1930s. Newcastle beat Man United at Old Trafford in December, doing so for the first time since 2013.
Newcastle suffered their own goalkeeper dilemma this season
While the season will go down as unforgettable for the Magpies thanks to the Carabao Cup win, there have also been some low points. Nick Pope struggled to make an impact between the sticks for Eddie Howe’s side, in the opening period of the season before suffering a knee injury which kept him out for over a month.
Martin Dubravka took Pope’s place in Newcastle’s starting XI and performed well during their best winning run of the season. The Slovakian kept his place in the starting XI for a few weeks after Pope returned, before the Englishman took his place back from Dubravka.
However, poor form saw Newcastle fans want Dubravka to replace Pope. Howe stuck to his guns, and Pope has improved in recent weeks. The 32-year-old was a key part of the Carabao Cup win, making a vital stop with the game at 2-0.
Pope kept his fourth Premier League clean sheet of the season in Newcastle’s win against Leicester last Monday, he will be hoping to make it five on Sunday.
Dubravka signed a new deal at Newcastle in February and will be hoping that he can see some game time before the end of the season, although it looks unlikely.
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