Manchester United will be hoping to maintain their 100% start to the 2015-16 Premier League season when they host Newcastle United this weekend.
Louis van Gaal's team welcome to Old Trafford a Magpies side that are still looking for their first league win under new manager Steve McClaren.
Manchester United
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Manchester United followed up their 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the first match of the season with a win by the same scoreline over Aston Villa last weekend, leaving them with six points from a possible six so far.
It has been a busy week for the squad, as they returned to Champions League action after missing out on a place in Europe's top club competition last season, securing a 3-1 win over Club Brugge in their two-legged playoff tie, with Memphis Depay netting his first two goals for the team.
Scoring three goals will have been a welcome sight for United fans, as the side created few chances on target in their opening couple of matches in the league, relying on an own goal from Kyle Walker in their first outing, before Adnan Janzaj netted his first league goal in over a year against Villa.
Despite leaving out regular first-choice goalkeeper David de Gea in the first few weeks of the campaign while he continues to be linked with Real Madrid, Sergio Romero has kept clean sheets in both of his league appearances, leaving the team as one of three sides yet to concede in the top flight.
United continue to feature heavily in transfer speculation, with Sadio Mane of Southampton being linked with a move to Old Trafford after the club failed to agree a deal with Barcelona's Pedro, who has since joined Chelsea, while the De Gea saga remains unresolved.
Van Gaal will be familiar with McClaren's management style, having faced the former England manager's FC Twente side while in charge of AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie during the 2008-09 season.
Recent form: LWDDWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWLWWW
Newcastle United
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The Magpies are still waiting for their first Premier League win this season, following up their draw with Southampton on the opening weekend of the campaign with a defeat to Swansea City last time out.
While McClaren is still getting to know his new squad, he will need to start getting performances from the side soon as the fixtures are coming thick and fast, with a League Cup match against Northampton Town falling just three days after the trip to Old Trafford.
The club made the managerial change over the summer after John Carver narrowly kept them in the top flight at the end of the 2014-15 season, needing a victory on the final day to secure their status for this campaign.
The team will have been boosted by the arrival of Florian Thauvin from Marseille this week. The club finally announced that they had completed a deal for the winger on Wednesday, having been repeatedly linked with the Frenchman for several weeks.
As part of that deal, Remy Cabella, who failed to secure a regular place in the first team during his debut campaign with the Magpies, heads in the opposite direction on a season-long loan.
Newcastle are yet to keep a clean sheet in the league, letting in two goals in both of their matches so far. However, summer signing Georginio Wijnaldum did open his account for the club in the first fixture of the term.
Recent form: LDLWDL
Recent form (all competitions): LDLLDL
Team News
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Both teams have a player suspended for this match as Marouane Fellaini serves the final game in a three-match ban that carried over from last season, while Newcastle are without Daryl Janmaat, who was sent off in last week's defeat to Swansea.
United have a couple of fitness concerns as Phil Jones has missed the start of the season with illness, which is likely to keep him out of action until the end of August, while Michael Carrick limped off during the match against Brugge earlier this week.
De Gea has been left out so far amid concerns that the goalkeeper may be distracted by transfer speculation. With Romero keeping clean sheets in his first two matches, and the Spanish stopper still being linked with Real Madrid, the Argentine looks set to continue between the posts.
Newcastle could hand a debut to new signing Thauvin, but assistant manager Paul Simpson has admitted that the club is not expecting him to settle straight away as he adapts to life in the Premier League.
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Romero, Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Shaw, Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin, Mata, Januzaj, Depay, Rooney
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Krul, Williamson, Mbemba, Coloccini, Haidara, Anita, Colback, Taylor, Wijnaldum, Thauvin, Cisse
Head To Head
Manchester United completed the double over Newcastle last season, following up a 3-1 win at Old Trafford with a 1-0 victory at St James's Park in their most recent meeting back in March.
Newcastle have won just one of their last seven meetings against the 20-time league champions, claiming a narrow 1-0 victory at Old Trafford in 2013, and just two in their last 27; a run which stretches back to 2001.
United have won more than half of the 161 previous meetings between these two sides, picking up 83 wins, while Newcastle have just 41 wins to date.
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Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:
We say: Manchester United 3-0 Newcastle United
Manchester United have dominated the head to head in recent years, and have made the better start to the campaign, so there is no reason to suggest the home side's strong run against the Magpies will not continue this weekend. Van Gaal's men did not look at their attacking best in the opening couple of matches, but appeared to have made a breakthrough against Club Brugge on Tuesday, which they will surely be looking to continue this weekend.
Sian Cowper
