Let’s look at Newcastle for a moment then. They are seventh heading into the match but can rise to fifth ahead of Bournemouth and Man City tonight if they take the three points - away from home this season they’ve won three, drawn three and lost three. Man United’s home form is won four, drawn one, lost four, so certainly looks open from that respect which way tonight might go.

The Magpies have won their last three in the Premier League, one of only three teams in the top flight to have a run of nine points from nine right now. Forest and Liverpool are the others.

Richard Jolly is our man at Old Trafford tonight - here’s his thoughts ahead of the match:

“Marcus Rashford returns to the Manchester United squad, albeit on the bench. In an intriguing selection, Ruben Amorim returns to the youthful double act of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen in midfield, even if it is partly because Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte are suspended. Joshua Zirkzee is one of the No 10s, which scarcely feels ideal.”

Neville continues on Amorim’s 3-4-3 setup and on the prospect of altering that somewhat if he continues to suffer defeats:

“If you remember Louis van Gaal, it felt he signed several players to play wing-back but it changed very quickly. If the results continue as they are for Amorim, he might have to change something. Man United can’t go any lower than they are.”

A bit of a laugh in-studio then as it’s pointed out Man Unitedcan in fact go somewhat lower...! Not that Neville and co want to even consider that prospect!

On Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher has been discussing the lack of final-third ability from Man United’s wing-backs and now Gary Neville suggests Newcastle wouldn’t take too many players from their opponents.

How far have they fallen?

“There’s no doubt he’s sick of conceding goals at set pieces. When you look at Newcastle and Manchester United, how many players would Newcastle take? There wouldn’t be many.

“An in-form Onana over Dubravka, Amad over Murphy and maybe the form Maguire has been in, but then I’m struggling. Not sure Eddie Howe would be taking too many from the red shirts.”

So a return to the squad for Marcus Rashford, which means he has managed to impress Ruben Amorim sufficiently after some pointed comments from the Manchester United manager last week:

Keeper Martin Dubravka will renew acquaintances with Manchester United this evening having come in from the cold to play his part in Newcastle’s December revival.

The 35-year-old Slovakia international has conceded just one goal in four games and none in three Premier League outings since taking over from the injured Nick Pope earlier this month, and he will head for Old Trafford, where he had a loan spell during the 2022-23 campaign, looking for a fifth successive win.

Dubravka’s form, and in particular his distribution, has helped provide a solid foundation for the Magpies, and head coach Eddie Howe has been hugely impressed with the way a man who had made just one appearance for the club since May has slotted into the team.

Howe said: “I’m very pleased with Martin. It’s never easy to come in for a goalkeeper in any situation when you haven’t played for a while because it’s about rhythm and it’s about confidence, but Martin has picked it up from minute one.

“He’s distributed the ball really, really well - that’s been a huge thing in his game that’s always been there.

“Against Aston Villa (on Boxing Day), I think back to a number of aerial claims, catches that he’s taken under pressure - he’s dealt with that aspect really well too, so I’m really pleased with Martin.”

Tino Livramento makes the bench for Newcastle after recovering from illness, with Eddie Howe’s starting line-up unchanged from the win over Aston Villa.

Newcastle XI: Dubravka; Trippier, Schar, Burn, Hall; Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton; Murphy, Isak, Gordon.

Marcus Rashford is back on the bench for Manchester United, with Ruben Amorim plumping for a midfield combination of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen. Lisandro Martinez captains in the absence of Bruno Fernandes while both Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund start.

Manchester United XI: Onana; De Ligt, Maguire, Martinez; Mazraoui, Casemiro, Eriksen, Dalot; Diallo, Zirkzee, Hojlund.

Just a matter of minutes now before the line-ups are out at Old Trafford. How will Manchester United assemble themselves without the suspended Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte? And could Tino Livramento make his return from illness in the Newcastle backline?

These remain troubled times for United, who have taken only seven points from Amorim’s first seven Premier League games in charge going into tonight.

But Diallo has offered some cause for optimism with his recent form, highlighted by his dramatic late winner in the Manchester derby as United scored two late goals to win 2-1 at City earlier this month.