Willy Kambwala could relieve the struggling Casemiro in crunch match versus Newcastle United | OneFootball

Manchester United take on Newcastle United tonight in a crunch tie that could see the Red Devils’ European hopes extinguished, at least from their league position.

Erik ten Hag’s men still have the chance to secure European football with an FA Cup win, but considering the trajectories of the two teams, it is not something many fans will hang their hat on.

Tonight’s fixture will be the 179th meeting between the two sides in what is one of the most contested fixtures in English football.

United have come out on top 91 times and with 46 matches ending up as a draw.

With Newcastle in sixth place and three points ahead of United with a substantially superior goal difference, only a win will do for Ten Hag’s men.

Here are some plotlines to unravel before the huge matchup.

United need to turn around poor form against the Magpies

The Red Devils came out on top against Newcastle in the all-important Carabao Cup final in February 2023, winning 2-0 via two goals from Casemiro and Marcus Rashford.

Traditionally United have had a good record in the Premier League versus the Magpies but this has dried up as of late.

Since winning the cup final, the teams have played three times with the Mancunian side losing 0-2, 0-3 and 0-1 in December 2023.

Not only have United failed to score a goal but they have hardly been able to lay a glove on Eddie Howe’s side.

This is something that must change if the Old Trafford crowd are to witness any type of European football next season.

Can Willy Kambwala’s return ease the burden on Casemiro?

One of the few feel-good moments for the senior male team this season has been the emergence of Kambwala as a serious squad option at the heart of the United defence.

The teenager was thoroughly impressive against Liverpool last month and has normally passed the examination when called upon.

United have suffered a plethora of injuries but with Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof all still deemed too unfit to start, Kambwala could grab his chance tonight, as he made his return on Sunday off the bench against Arsenal.

The Casemiro experiment at centre-back has been an unmitigated disaster with a range of pundits blasting both the veteran and the manager for putting him in such a tough position.

Reportedly, the Brazilian also dislikes playing as a defender and is far from Erik ten Hag’s biggest fan.

The Frenchman has youth on his side and his leadership and strength have been praised as he has been described as a “powerhouse”.

Therefore, should Kambwala play, as we have predicted he will at The Peoples Person, a strong performance can allow Casemiro to move forward into his favoured defensive midfield role and hopefully restore some balance to the team.

Will the attack be less toothless with Bruno Fernandes involved?

United actually created more chances than Arsenal and surprisingly had more possession but they never really looked like scoring.

Alejandro Garnacho huffed and puffed but his final ball was severely lacking and he faced the wrath of numerous pundits.

Captain Bruno Fernandes tends to be a magnet for criticism these days but once again in the rare moments he doesn’t play, United look toothless.

Against both Crystal Palace and Arsenal, games he has missed, Ten Hag’s side could have played 180 minutes in each and probably still wouldn’t have found the back of the net.

In all likelihood, Bruno will be brought back into the team tonight and fans will be hoping he can spark a bit of magic once more for his beleaguered side.

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