Donaldson determined to defeat Red Devils | OneFootball

Diarmuid O'Carroll's side currently occupy seventh spot in the table and will be hoping to continue their bright league form of late following victories against Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa ahead of facing their Red Devils counterparts at the Magpies' Little Benton Academy (kick-off 12pm BST).

Newcastle's youngsters are set for four games in the space of 10 days, including clashes against Mansfield Town and Tamworth in the EFL Trophy and National League Cup respectively and Donaldson, who signed his first professional contract with his boyhood club last summer, is relishing the hectic schedule of key fixtures.

The 19-year-old striker told newcastleunited.com: "We're looking forward to it. We've had a very good start to the season and, hopefully, we can continue to get better.

"It's the first time we've won back-to-back league wins in a long time so we can take that as a positive. It's easy to win one game but another thing to do it again and make it a habit. We'll have confidence going into this game. We've had a tough run of games but have come out of it with three wins from four games in 12 days.

"We have another tough run, with four games in 10 days but we've proved we can do it against top sides and playing lots of games in a short amount of time. We're going into every game expecting to win and being disappointed if we don't."

Since signing his maiden pro deal with the Magpies in July, Donaldson admitted he has already "improved a lot this season" and gained his first Premier League 2 start against Aston Villa earlier this month.

The Gateshead-born teenager, who was on target in United's EFL Trophy victory against Bradford City, expressed his delight in featuring on a regular basis for United's under-21 side after an injury-stricken 2023/24 campaign.

Donaldson added: "I'm loving it at the minute. I like the fact there is a lot of games and it's a great experience, especially playing against senior sides and getting a good run of games under my belt.

"It's been pleasing as I had a tough year with injuries. I had a quadricep injury in November and then I had a sportsman's hernia so I struggled to get a run of games together, coming back and then getting more niggles.

"I've been feeling very fit this season, though, and getting my first league start at under-21 level was great and I'm hoping to get more of those going forward."

Supporters can gain free admission for Saturday's Premier League 2 visit of Manchester United at the Magpies' Little Benton Academy.