Erik ten Hag has named his starting line-up for Manchester United's crunch Premier League clash with fellow top-four hopefuls Newcastle United at St James' Park this afternoon, making a cluster of changes.
United, who are unbeaten in each of their last seven meetings with the Magpies, will be looking to register a third successive victory in all competitions after signing off for the recent international break with a 3-1 FA Cup quarter-final triumph over Fulham. A late double from Bruno Fernandes and a first goal for the club from Marcel Sabitzer sealed an unlikely victory
It means that Ten Hag will be determined to see his side add another victory to their collection, as they aim to halt their two-game winless run in the Premier League and start the final sprint to the finish line with three points. The Dutchman, as expected, has opted to make a few alterations to the side that defeated Fulham a fortnight ago, making three in total.
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Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane and Antony have come into the side, meaning Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire and Jadon Sancho have dropped out.
Meanwhile, the likes of Tyrell Malacia, Facundo Pellistri and Anthony Martial, who has made his first matchday squad since January 14, have been named among the substitutes. However, the likes of Christian Eriksen (injured) and Casemiro (suspended) remain unavailable for selection.
Having made the decision to make three changes to the side that beat Fulham, Ten Hag will be hoping to see another victory from his team, as they look to make a winning start to the restart. It is the inclusion of Dalot at right-back that has attracted the most attention from United's supporters in the immediate aftermath of the team news being confirmed.
Below, MEN Sport has taken a close look at what some of United's supporters have had to say in response to Ten Hag's decision to name the Portuguese international at right-back and go up against Allan Saint-Maximin, even though he has been left with no choice because of Wan-Bissaka being unavailable through illness.
As you can see from the messages displayed in the tweets above, Dalot's inclusion in the starting line-up concerns some United fans. He struggled to contain Saint-Maximin in the Carabao Cup final five weeks ago and they clearly fear a repeat of that could be on the cards because of Wan-Bissaka's unavailability.
United starting line-up: De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; McTominay, Sabitzer, Fernandes; Antony, Rashford, Weghorst.
Substitutes: Butland, Bishop, Lindelof, Maguire, Malacia, Fred, Sancho, Pellistri, Martial.
This afternoon's contest kicks-off at 4:30pm and you can follow all of the action on our live matchday blog, which you can access by clicking here.
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