Newcastle v Man Utd: Magpie’s duo to put Utd to the sword
Published:Man Utd have looked uncharacteristically shaky in the opening weeks of the season, escaping unscathed from trips to Liverpool and Southampton when their performances warranted nothing, before Tottenham handed them their first defeat at Old Trafford in almost a year.
They’ll need to raise their defensive game significantly if they’re going to get a much-needed win against a Newcastle team whose strengths lie in the final third. The Magpies punished a poor United side in a 3-0 win at the Sports Direct Arena last term and Ladbrokes have them priced up at a massive 3/1 to pick maximum points again.
The Toon’s two Senegalese powerhouses have been in amongst the goals in recent weeks, Papiss Cisse in particular looking very threatening when the sides met in the Capital One Cup third round.
He notched his first of the season in a 2-1 defeat that night, and caused the Red Devils’ centre backs all kinds of problems with his strength and pace.
Cisse could be in for another profitable night against United if their defending is of similar ilk and can be backed at 7/1 to score the opening goal of the game. A brace is priced up at a tempting 11/1, while 66/1 says he takes the match ball home.
Demba Ba has found the net in both of his clashes with United in a Newcastle shirt and has been electric in the Premier League since Alan Pardew decided to drop him for the Everton game.
He’s bagged five in the two and a half games since coming on at the break at Goodison and is also likely to haunt the beleaguered backline of the 19-time English champions. A Ba goal and Newcastle win offers bags of value for punters at 5/1, whereas he’s a 6/1 to be first on target in this one.
All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date
