Despite failing to beat ten-man Aston Villa last weekend, Manchester United remain in the driving seat for a top 4 finish and they go into the Newcastle game high on confidence.

The Magpies, on the other hand, are reeling after yet another Tyne-Wear derby loss, and they desperately need a good result to get back on track.

Manchester United recovered well from the disappointing start to the season and the excellent string of results saw them start being regarded as outsiders in the title chase.

The six-match winning streak is even more impressive when we know it was achieved while some very important players were on the sidelines, which is enough to suggest Luis van Gaal’s side still have plenty of room for improvement.

Manchester United were not at their best in the previous fixture against Aston Villa, but they still came from a goal behind to earn a draw and could have even won the game.

The Red Devils now return to home comforts and they can be backed at 1.40 (2/5) to defeat injury-hit Newcastle at Old Trafford.

Summer recruit Radamel Falcao marked his return to the starting line-up with a goal and he is 2.16 (29/25) to add another to his tally.

Chris Smalling could return to the side from a groin problem, but Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera, Marouane Fellaini and Daley Blind are unavailable.

Probable starting line-up (3-4-1-2): De Gea – Jones, Carrick, Evans – Valencia, Rooney, Di Maria, Young – Mata – Falcao, Van Persie.

This season has been a real rollercoaster ride for Newcastle, who have gone from zero to hero and back again in the space of several months.

Just like their next opponents, the Magpies produced a great response to some disappointing performances at the start of the season, but the serious injury crisis then took the wind out of their sails.

Newcastle have now lost last three matches on all fronts, and while they conceded no less than eight goals in defeats to North London rivals, chances are the weekend’s loss to bitter rivals Sunderland will hurt the most.

The nightmare record in Tyne-Wear derbies continued for Alan Pardew’s men as Andy Johnson scored a last-gasp winner, pushing the Magpies down to 9th in the overall standings.

And with Newcastle losing three of last four away matches, they have little to hope for ahead of the trip to Old Trafford.

Cheick Tiote misses out through suspension, but Steven Taylor is available for selection. Rolando Aarons, Siem de Jong, Tim Krul, Davide Santon, Rob Elliot, Mehdi Abeid, Ryan Taylor and Gabriel Obertan remain sidelined.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Alnwick – Janmaat, S. Taylor, Coloccini, Dummet – Sissoko, Colback – Gouffran, Cabella, Ameobi – Perez.