Man United v Newcastle: Confirmed line-ups as Lisandro Martinez starts for hosts amid injuries and absences
Man United host Newcastle this evening. Get all the team news here...
Manchester United will hope to put Sunday’s defeat at Aston Villa – and a lengthy list of absentees – behind them when they host Newcastle tonight.
Ruben Amorim’s side played well at Villa Park last weekend but a lack of quality in both boxes saw them go down 2-1.
They will also have to do without captain Bruno Fernandes for several weeks due to injury. That and AFCON would suggest it is a perfect time for Newcastle to play them.
The Magpies are 11th after an underwhelming first half of the season.
Only three teams have taken fewer points away in the 2025/26 top flight and manager Eddie Howe will hope for a strong performance.
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MAN UNITED TEAM NEWS
Casemiro is available after suspension in United’s midfield but Kobbie Mainoo is injured.
Centre-backs Harry Maguire (thigh) and Matthijs de Ligt (back) are out with short-term injuries. Midfielder Amad Diallo is with the Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations 2025, where wideman Noussair Mazraoui is representing Morocco and forward Bryan Mbeumo is playing for Cameroon.
Man United: Lammens; Dalot, Heaven, Martinez, Shaw, Dorgu; Casemiro, Ugarte, Mount, Cunha; Sesko
NEWCASTLE TEAM NEWS
Newcastle are unchanged from the team that drew 2-2 with Chelsea at the weekend.
Defenders Dan Burn (ribs/punctured lung), Kieran Trippier (hamstring), Sven Botman (back), Tino Livramento (knee) and Jamaal Lascelles (knee) remain out injured.
Newcastle: Ramsdale; Miley, Schar, Thiaw, Hall; Guimaraes, Tonali, Ramsey; Murphy, Gordon, Woltemade
How to watch Man United v Newcastle: TV channel, live online stream
Kick-off on Friday is at 20:00 GMT (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra.
Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £28 a month for a 12-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.
Sky Sports memberships include access to all 12 live Sky Sports channels and Sky Sports+, which offers live streams and a dedicated channel.
Streaming is available on a vast variety of devices via the Sky GO app.
Manchester United v Newcastle stats
- This is the first Boxing Day in Premier League history to see as little as one game being played and is between the team with the most Boxing Day wins in the competition (United, 22) and the side with the joint-most Boxing Day defeats (Newcastle, 16)
- United have lost four of their last five Premier League games against Newcastle (W1) – as many as they did in their previous 38 in the fixture (W25 D9)
- They have won all three of their Premier League Boxing Day games against Newcastle, all under different managers – 4-3 in 2012 (Alex Ferguson), 3-1 in 2014 (Louis van Gaal) and 4-1 in 2019 (Ole Gunnar Solskjaer)
- All of their last three Premier League matches played between Christmas and New Year have been defeats – as many as they suffered in their previous 43 games between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve (W32 D8 L3)
- In the seven Premier League games when Bruno has not been in their starting line-up since the 2022/23 campaign, United have lost six times, drawn once and scored a total of four goals
- Newcastle did the league double over Manchester United last season, including a 2-0 win in this exact fixture
- They last completed consecutive wins at Old Trafford in March 1935 and last made it three straight wins against them in January 1922
- The Magpies have won their last two away league matches played between Christmas and New Year, beating Leicester on Boxing Day 2022 and United on December 30 last year. They had won two of their previous 34 away league games played between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve (D6 L26)
- Nick Woltemade has scored seven Premier League goals this season – the only German players to net more often in their debut campaign in the competition are Jurgen Klinsmann in 1994/95 (20), Lukas Podolski in 2012/13 (11) and Andre Schurrle in 2013/14 (8)
- Howe has won seven of his 13 Boxing Day league games as a manager (D3 L3), including all five outside of the top flight as Bournemouth and Burnley manager between 2009 and 2014, although he has a 25% win ratio in such games in the Premier League (P8 W2 D3 L3)