'Isn't it?' - Eddie Howe makes Man Utd claim ahead of Newcastle United clash

Eddie Howe believes Newcastle United’s draw against Brighton & Hove Albion “perfectly” sets up Wednesday night’s trip to Manchester United.

The Magpies, as it stands, head to Old Trafford three points above their hosts but the two teams could be on the same number of points (57) if the Red Devils beat Premier League title challengers Arsenal this afternoon.

Newcastle remain in the driving sit to finish sixth but face competition from Man Utd and Chelsea, who secured a late 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening. Without relying on other results, Howe’s men, who hold a far superior goal difference, must beat Erik ten Hag’s men and Brentford in their final two fixtures.

Howe said: “Two huge games. The Manchester United game is set up perfectly, isn’t it? That’ll be massive for us, we’ll give everything we can to try and get a positive result. And of course, Brentford will take care of itself on the last day. But as we said all along, it’s probably going to go to the wire. 

“It’s in our hands, our goal difference is really strong. You always prefer that way. You can control what you can control, we don’t have to look at other results. But still, we don’t take anything for granted, we know how difficult these two games are going to be.”

Newcastle won on their last visit to Old Trafford, winning 3-0 in the Carabao Cup in December but Howe said: “I don’t think we’ll use it in any way. Very different game and moment in our season. I think it’s always when you’ve had a positive result at grounds you’re going to visit but this is a one-off game and we’ll do everything we can to perform well.”