The Devil to pay? Newcastle United v Manchester United match preview
October 7th, 2012 | 25 Comments |
Date: Sunday, 7th Oct.
Kick off: 4:00pm
Referee: Howard Webb (Manchester United).
UK TV: Sky Sports 1.
Once again, Manchester United will, very helpfully, be bringing their own referee along for this game. Of course, I am referring to Howard Webb, who they also kindly brought along for the corresponding fixture at SJP back in January 2012, and who was also in charge of our most recent Premier League home loss, against Manchester City last May.
This will also be the second live televised game between the sides in two weeks, the last one of course being our League Cup exit against the Red Devils on the 26th of last month. Both teams were also in midweek European action, with the Mancs narrowly winning 2-1 against Cluj on Tuesday while Newcastle beat Bordeaux a little more emphatically on Thursday.
So, after a successful Europa League outing in which we managed 29 minutes of 4-3-3, will Pardew revert to the same old cautious 4-4-2 or risk giving his players another chance for a “breath of fresh air” by going for a positive attacking line up against the Red Devils? Interestingly, the last time we played the Reds at SJP was just after they’d suffered a 2-3 defeat at home (to Blackburn). So maybe the omens are looking good for us tomorrow?
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