
Newcastle host Manchester United at St. James' Park on Sunday as Eddie Howe's side continue their charge for the Champions League next season. The visitors are languishing in 13th place, and have failed to score in their last two Premier League matches.
Since winning the EFL Cup, Newcastle have had a spring in their step, winning back-to-back Premier League matches against Brentford and Leicester. Sitting on the same amount of points as Chelsea, but with a game in hand, Eddie Howe's team are in the perfect position to leapfrog into 4th.
With four Premier League wins to their name from their last five, their Champions League dream is well and truly on, and back at home for their next encounter, it would take a brave man to back against them.
Manchester United may have only lost one of their last five matches across all competitions, but having lost against Forest before failing to land a blow against arch-rivals Man City, their season is already finished.
Sitting in 13th, there's no European football to hunt down, and having only beaten Leicester on the road since January, Ruben Amorim has his work cut out if his team are to be more competitive next campaign.
With very little to play for - and after two mediocre performances - their trip to St. James' Park looks to be another difficult fixture.
Having beaten Man United 2-0 at Old Trafford earlier in the season, Newcastle are looking to complete the double on Sunday afternoon - and their current form should see them do just that. In fact, their recent history is very strong against the Red Devils, having beaten them four times from their last five head-to-heads.
Newcastle haven't lost at home to Man United since 2020, and have won two and drawn one since that match. Anthony Gordon was the match winner last season, and although he's set to miss out, the hosts should have enough quality to get three key points.
With Newcastle looking to secure Champions League football, and with Man United proving to be inconsistent in the final stages of the season, the hosts can justify their short price this weekend.
When Newcastle win football matches, Alexander Isak is normally on the scoresheet. The Swedish international has scored 20 Premier League goals in just 27 appearances this campaign - over a third of their goals as a collective.
Isak opened the scoring in the reverse fixture inside four minutes, and with Man United not enjoying their recent trips to St. James' Park, the forward can cause their backline issues once again.
On their travels, Man United have the 14st best away form, scoring just 16 goals. They have failed to find the back of the net against Newcastle in four of their last five meetings - and with little to no incentive on Sunday, the hosts can brush them to one side once again.
Newcastle are flying, but their odds-on price is a little too short to back on its own. However, if we use bet365's bet builder option and add in Alexander Isak to score, you can get odds of 9/5 - which is far more tempting.
Good luck if you're following.
Users must be 18+. If you are having trouble with gambling then help and advice can be found at begambleaware.org. Please Play Responsibly.
Trading financial products carries a high risk to your capital, especially trading leverage products such as CFDs. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.