betprepare.com

Rooney in midfield, Newcastle on a losing streak

Louis van Gaal switched the captain to midfield in order to strengthen the whole concept, while Newcastle have three defeats in a row and are missing 10 players, and half of them didn't play too much this season

Getty Images

Manchester United were trusted to reach their seven consecutive win against Aston Villa, but it wasn't so. United seemed a bit sleepy and tired, and didn't even manage to use the extra player they had in the last half an hour.

The chance to redeem themselves will come against Newcastle, a tricky opponent, but not the one they should tremble before. We should thus expect an aggressive and offense-oriented match by Louis van Gaal. He's looking for new solutions, so against Aston Villa captain Rooney was in the midfield, and Van Persie and Falcao as strikers.

- Rooney played as the defensive midfielder against Aston Villa. I think he will adapt even more to that position - Van Gaal explained the captain's new position who, in the last 100 championship matches either scored or helped with 94 goals. The Dutch strategist wasn't pleased with the Birmingham match.

- We are frustrated because we think we were better and that we should have won. In the first half-time we missed aggressiveness, the second half-time was a bit better, but I should also mention that Aston Villa is a well organized team and it's hard to score against them. To be in the championship battle you have to win matches like those. I've seen Manchester City against Crystal Palace; they tortured up until half-time, but they still celebrated with 3-0 and that's the difference. Such scores are keeping us away from the champions title battle - Van Gaal was clear. United were lucky in some earlier matches, but it all levels out in the end.

- We want to make Old Trafford an impregnable fort where we are interested only in winning. I gave a day off to my players for Christmas which wasn't the case earlier, we're going to gather at the stadium and go for a win against Newcastle - Louis van Gaal is determined.

Manchester United are kings of matches on Boxing Day because in the last 20 years they've had 17 wins and a single defeat, and currently they're in a winning streak of 10 matches.

After a big win over Chelsea, Newcastle were defeated three times in eight days. Arsenal crushed them in the championship and Tottenham in the Cup League, and the most painful one was on Sunday against Sunderland, with a goal they conceded in the 90th minute.

Newcastle played all of the mentioned matches poorly, and it's clear there's no freshness in their players. A tight schedule and a lot of problems with absences took their toll, and Alan Pardew's team won't have it easy in the following three league matches, this time only six days apart.

Last year Newcastle were celebratory on Old Trafford, and stopped the terrible streak of 29 matches without a win since 1972, but that won't be much comfort if they don't manage to stand up to their hosts.

- In the last three matches at Old Trafford we played well, and last year we've won, and the key was not to allow the host to dominate the ball possession. If we manage that today, we will make the match interesting - thinks Newcastle's strategist Alan Pardew, but just by looking at the 10 players he can't count on, including the two first goalkeepers, tells us there will be a lot of alterations in the line-up.

- We were only missing goals in the last couple of matches, and when we find the realization, then I'm convinced in a good score, although we know Manchester United are getting better and better as the season is passing - Pardew is realistic, and a single point in this case would be a big hit for Newcastle.