Manchester United were frustrated in the Champions League on Tuesday, held to a 2-2 draw by Benfica at Old Trafford, but they will be hoping to return to business as usual in the Premier League when Newcastle visit on Saturday.
United were without the injured Wayne Rooney in midweek and left Javier Hernandez on the bench as Dimitar Berbatov led the line. He played well enough, scoring on the half hour, but missed a couple of chances late in the game. Sir Alex Ferguson will be hoping Rooney recovers in time to face Newcastle, who are just four points behind them in fourth place.
Newcastle fans will be hoping for the return of their own sharp shooter, Leon Best, from his groin injury, and that Demba Ba shows the form that helped him score a hat-trick at Stoke last month.
Alan Pardew’s side lost their unbeaten record against the other Manchester club last weekend, going down 3-1. The bookies don’t think they will do much better against the Red Devils, pricing them at best odds of 10/1 (Ladbrokes – £50 free bets) to take three points back to the North East.
Until last weekend, Newcastle had done well on their travels winning at Stoke, Wolves and Sunderland. Old Trafford is a different kettle of fish, however, and United are strong favourites to get the win at odds of 4/11 (William Hill – £25 free bets). Check out more free bets at www.freebets.org
Manchester United won this fixture 3-0 last season, and though Newcastle have had a solid start to the season a similar score line is not unlikely. Backing United to be winning at half time and full time looks a fair price at 18/19 (Unibet), while backing Hernandez to score first – as he did against Swansea, Everton and Bolton – could also pay dividends at best odds of 7/2 (Sky Bet – £10 free betting with no deposit required).