From the Mersey to the Bosporus to the Tyne, it’s a week of sound and fury for Manchester United.
They emerged with credit from a Goodison Park supercharged with anger over Everton‘s 10-point punishment last Sunday, even if the 3-0 scoreline was flattering.
Their midweek excursion into ‘Hell’ was less successful as Andre Onana’s dreadful errors against Galatasaray left their Champions League hopes dangling by a thread.
Now, Erik ten Hag‘s team face another test of character against Newcastle late on Saturday night.
The 50,000 Geordies inside St James’ Park are unlikely to be sympathetic to their plight. It will be a classically raucous occasion under the lights.
Erik ten Hag faces more tough decisions as Manchester United round off a challenging week with a visit to Newcastle United on Saturday night
It was another chastening night for United as their Champions League last-16 hopes took a hammer blow in Wednesday’s 3-3 draw with Galatasaray
Now they face a St James’ Park test against an intense Newcastle side on Saturday evening
Nor will Eddie Howe‘s depleted but always-intense team care much for Man United‘s problems.
They will be fuelled by the injustice of the contentious handball penalty awarded against Tino Livramento, which denied them a famous win over Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.
One of Newcastle’s main traits is their ferocity, refusing to give any opponent a moment’s peace with their pressing and pressurising, something guaranteed to whip up the crowd.
In such maelstroms, Man United have been known to panic and buckle. Game management continues to be a major problem for Ten Hag, even if they gain the luxury of an early lead.
They have twice blown leads against Galatasaray and also away to Copenhagen in a Champions League group that just seems doomed to failure.
‘As a team we are conceding too many goals and it is unnecessary. I am sure our team is capable and experienced enough to cope better,’ said Ten Hag after the latest capitulation in Istanbul.
Andre Onana was the man primarily to blame for blowing 2-0 and 3-1 leads against Galatasaray and Ten Hag’s biggest call ahead of Saturday night will be over his goalkeeper.
Andre Onana was culpable for United dropping two precious points in Istanbul after two errors
Onana conceded two soft free-kicks in United’s 3-3 draw with Galatasaray on Wednesday
He could be taken out of the firing line and replaced by Turkish keeper Altay Bayindir (right)
The time may have come to take Onana out of the firing line, at least for one game. The St James’ Park crowd will be on his case from his very first touch and Newcastle’s high pressers will hassle him.
The situation really is lose-lose for Ten Hag. Playing Onana risks further calamities which will further dent his confidence and drive a wedge between keeper and the rest of the team.
Dropping Onana risks shattering his confidence for different reasons and only intensifies the spotlight on the manager, who pushed hard for the £47m transfer in the summer.
Altay Bayindir, a good goalkeeper in his own right, has been waiting patiently in the wings since joining from Fenerbahce on deadline day.
Any manager should want healthy competition between his keepers and Bayindir will no doubt wonder how many chances Onana is going to be given before he gets his shot.
Sticking with Onana could prove advantageous when it comes to beating Newcastle’s press and breaking the lines with targeted medium-range passes into midfield.
United will look to Harry Maguire to provide leadership during another tough test on Tyneside
Raphael Varane continues to be frozen out of Erik ten Hag’s plans despite defensive injuries
However, over 60 per cent of Onana’s goal kicks this season have been played short within United’s penalty box.
This feeds into another big call Ten Hag must make – whether to stick with Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof at the heart of defence.
That’s been the combination for the last three games with Jonny Evans and Lisandro Martinez out injured and Raphael Varane very much out of favour.
It’s doubtful we’ll see Varane restored for Saturday night so United can only hope Maguire and Lindelof are quick enough on the ball if they persist with passing out from the back.
Another big call will come in midfield, where they’ll likely come up against the trio of Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes and 17-year-old Lewis Miley.
Howe is grappling with an injury crisis, with 10 players sidelined plus Sandro Tonali suspended, so has little room for manoeuvre with his team selection.
Ten Hag has more wriggle-room and will have to decide whether to bring Kobbie Mainoo, the 18-year-old who has thoroughly impressed, back into midfield.
Kobbie Mainoo replaced Sofyan Amrabat on Wednesday and is in contention to start
18-year-old Mainoo played impressively against Everton and looks set to have a bright future
Mainoo played very well against Everton and was introduced for Sofyan Amrabat with half-an-hour left against Galatasaray. United were 3-1 up at the time.
Leaving large gaps in midfield has been an issue for United all season and Hakim Ziyech’s first free-kick goal on Wednesday resulted from Bruno Fernandes having to commit a tactical foul after Scott McTominay had been caught upfield when Galatasaray countered.
Amrabat hasn’t looked too convincing for United so far, so Mainoo has every chance of starting alongside McTominay on Tyneside. Mason Mount, Casemiro and Christian Eriksen are all out.
Whoever plays will need to work intelligently in tandem or they’ll be overrun in midfield. Both deeper midfielders cannot commit forward at the same time in case Newcastle quickly transition the ball.
If the Guimaraes, Joelinton, Anthony Gordon or the speedy Miguel Almiron find themselves in space and able to run at United’s back line, there will be trouble.
The forward positions also present a dilemma. Does Ten Hag play Marcus Rashford, suspended in Europe in midweek, in the hope his confidence has been restored by that penalty at Everton?
Newcastle were excellent when they won 3-0 at Old Trafford in the Carabao Cup last month
Alejandro Garnacho scored against Everton and Galatasaray, pressing his claim to start again
Alejandro Garnacho, who has scored two big goals this week, surely deserves to start as well and so Antony looks likely to be the fall guy, which probably won’t disappoint too many fans.
The great paradox of United’s season is that for all their leaking of goals and tossing away of leads in Europe, they are the Premier League’s form side.
United have won five of their last six, putting them top of the form table over that timespan.
While they had little choice but the go on the offensive against Galatasaray – and were aided by the Turkish side pursuing a similar strategy – they can afford to be a bit more conservative against Newcastle.
Yet too many times this season they’ve tried to absorb pressure and buckled, so really they might as well go for it and try to capitalise on Newcastle’s threadbare team.
An early goal may succeed in quietening the crowd but, as we’ve seen, it can count for little in the end.
Ten Hag needs to get the big selection calls right and then hope his players can produce a more competent performance than we have been seeing to push them closer to the top four.
Marcus Rashford scored a penalty at Everton last weekend and is a strong contender to start
Antony could easily be the one to make way if Garnacho and Rashford both start at Newcastle
