Cristiano Ronaldo is set to make his second debut for Manchester United this weekend when Newcastle United come to town.
Ronaldo returned to Manchester earlier than expected from international duty with Portugal after he broke the men's international all-time goalscoring record, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that the 36-year-old will play some part against Newcastle on Saturday afternoon.
The Portugal international has been training with his new teammates all week after leaving the Portugal camp early, and anticipation has been building among fans with Ronaldo set to pull on the famous red top again for the first time since 2009.
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Nevertheless, the result is still the most important factor for United on Saturday, with the Red Devils not wanting to drop points again like they did against Southampton in the second gameweek.
Jadon Sancho was a doubt for United after withdrawing early from the England camp with a knock, but he's been in training according to Solskjaer and could make the squad on Saturday.
It may still be too early for Scott McTominay to make his return to the starting XI however, despite returning to training this week.
Fred is one of eight Brazilian players in the league who are banned from playing this weekend, and long-term absentees Marcus Rashford and Alex Telles are also absent.
So, what line-ups will both teams select for this one? And, what could the final score be?
We used FIFA 21 to get a score prediction for Man United vs Newcastle on Saturday and this is what happened...
Man United vs Newcastle score predicted by FIFA 21 simulation
We used Kick-Off mode in FIFA 21, but didn't select a team to control, we then selected the teams and watched the match play out by itself, to give us a score prediction.
And because FIFA 22 is yet to be released with updated kits and transfers, we used the in-game club transfer system in FIFA 21 to update Man United's and Newcastle's squads with the latest transfers made, but unfortunately, the kits are still from last season.
We predict that Solskjaer's side could set up in their favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Maguire, Shaw; Matic, Van de Beek; Greenwood, Fernandes, Pogba; Ronaldo.
For the Magpies, we predict that Steve Bruce's side could set up in a 5-3-2 formation, with their line-up as follows: Woodman; Murphy, Fernandez, Lascelles, Schar, Ritchie; Willock, Hayden, Longstaff; Joelinton, Saint-Maximin
United dominated the early stages of the game with Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes having some glimpses of brilliance, however they couldn't make the final pass as the Red Devils' pressure continued.
Solskjaer's side did find an early breakthrough however, with Mason Greenwood firing home from close range.
Nemanja Matic dinked a wonderful first-time ball over the top of the Newcastle backline to meet Greenwood who's sprint into the box beat the offsides trap, and the England international fizzed an effort into the bottom corner with his left foot to put the home side ahead.
Fernandes came close with a long-range effort as the half-time break loomed, but he couldn't keep his shot down as it skimmed the bar.
The Red Devils continued their pressure in the second half and doubled their lead through Harry Maguire.
Fernandes floated his corner towards the back post and despite being tightly marked by two Magpies defenders, Maguire was the first to meet the ball as he headed into the bottom corner.
And just 10 minutes later, the moment all United fans were waiting for arrived as Ronaldo powered a wonderful finish into the top corner from inside the box.
The Portugal international held off two Newcastle defenders with his back to goal and managed to turn onto his right foot and take aim for the top corner to make it 3-0 to United.
The 36-year-old then doubled his tally on his second debut to make it 4-0 to Solskjaer's side as the Red Devils continued their domination at Old Trafford.
Donny van de Beek spotted Ronaldo's surging run forward and found him as he went one-on-one with Freddie Woodman and made no mistake in curling it around the 'keeper.
Ronaldo was subbed off after 80 minutes for Anthony Martial, and the French substitute finished off the routing as he scored a wonderful volley with the last kick of the game.
Van de Beek was playing in a more advanced role in the last half an hour, and he grabbed his second assist of the afternoon as his chipped through-ball was met by Martial, and his first-time volley was smashed through Woodman's legs and into the net to make it 5-0 to United.
FIFA 21 predicted score: Man United 5-0 Newcastle
These were the full-time match stats:
FIFA 21 predicts that a Ronaldo brace, as well as goals from Maguire, Greenwood and Martial, would give Man United a dominant 5-0 victory over Newcastle United.
What do you think the score will be between Man United and Newcastle on Saturday? Let us know in the comments!
The successor to FIFA 21, FIFA 22, will be released in the UK and worldwide on Friday, October 1, 2021.
The Manchester Evening News edition for Saturday 11th September featuring the Viva Ronaldo supplement is available to order on the shop via the following link.
