Manchester United have reported no new injury problems so far after last night’s unimpressive victory over Omonia Nicosia in the Champions League.
The quality of opposition will be going up a notch on Sunday at Old Trafford as the Red Devils welcome Newcastle United in the Premier League.
Last night’s hero Scott McTominay will be unavailable for the match as he is serving a suspension for accumulating five yellow cards.
Harry Maguire, Donny van de Beek, Brandon Williams and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are all still out but there is a chance Anthony Martial could be available.
Manager Erik ten Hag has a few key battles for places in his side now, which is a nice problem to have.
At centre back, the question is whether to stick with Victor Lindelof, who has been solid alongside Lisandro Martinez, or whether to recall Raphael Varane. We predict the Frenchman will get the nod, but it could go either way.
The left back slot is also interesting, with Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia battling it out. Malacia started yesterday but was hauled off early and so on current form we think Shaw will be restored to the starting XI on Sunday.
David de Gea and Diogo Dalot are almost sure to start.
Central midfield is easier to predict. With McTominay suspended, Casemiro will almost certainly start and Fred will probably make way for Christian Eriksen after he was rested last night.
Bruno Fernandes will continue in the number 10 position despite a poor performance against Omonia.
This leaves the wings and centre forward positions and again, there is competition for places. Assuming Martial is not fit enough to start, the question is whether Ten Hag will keep faith with Cristiano Ronaldo up top or whether he’ll put the more mobile Marcus Rashford back in the centre forward position.
Rashford was extremely wasteful in front of goal against Omonia, but Ronaldo’s movement was a problem too. We have opted for Rashford, with Jadon Sancho being restored to the left wing and Antony on the right.
With all that in mind, here is our predicted XI for Sunday’s game:
