Newcastle United travel to Manchester United this evening in the only Premier League fixture taking place on Boxing Day.
It is six days since the Magpies were last in action - their longest gap between games since August - where they surrendered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Chelsea at St James’ Park.
Nick Woltemade bounced back from his own goal in the Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland by netting a first-half brace before the Blues responded in the second-half through Reece James and Joao Pedro.
Meanwhile, Man United played on Sunday and lost 2-1 away to high-flying Aston Villa. And that defeat was compounded by the loss of talisman Bruno Fernandes to injury.
It means the Red Devils host Newcastle without some of their key players after Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo last week left to compete at the African Cup of Nations.
That will come as a boost for Eddie Howe’s side, who have struggled on the road this campaign. In their eight away matches so far, United have only won one - a 4-1 win at Everton last month.
Here’s how Newcastle are predicted to line-up at Old Trafford:
5. LB: Lewis Hall
Looked to have come through the Chelsea game unscathed after missing the Carabao Cup win over Fulham a few days earlier due to fatigue in his hamstring. | Getty Images
6. CM: Sandro Tonali
Looked back to his best against Chelsea, at least from a physical standpoint anyway. Fantastic engine. | Getty Images
7. CM: Bruno Guimaraes
Cast your mind back to this exact fixture last season and Newcastle’s skipper pulled the strings that night. Hopefully there’ll be a repeat of that on Boxing Day. | Getty Images
8. CM: Jacob Ramsey
We’re yet to see the best of Newcastle’s £39m summer signing, but he’s certainly added a new dynamic to the midfield when starting back-to-back matches last week. | Getty Images