Paul Merson has made a clear-cut scoreline prediction for Manchester United vs Newcastle after the Sky Sports pundit warned Erik ten Hag of two players.
Manchester United will be hopeful of bouncing back on Wednesday after the Red Devils suffered a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Erik ten Hag’s men have lost their last two Premier League matches, including a crushing 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park last week.
United languish in eighth place in the Premier League table, but the Red Devils are only three points behind seventh-place Chelsea and sixth-place Newcastle.
However, Erik ten Hag’s side have won only one of their last five league matches before they host Newcastle at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening.
Newcastle, on the other hand, have won three of their last five league matches and Eddie Howe’s men trail fifth-place Tottenham by six points.
Merson talks Man Utd vs Arsenal
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson was in attendance at Old Trafford on the weekend, as Leandro Trossard’s first-half opener was enough to seal a win for Arsenal.
Merson admitted that he was baffled at the state of Manchester United’s iconic stadium after footage of the roof leaking went viral on social media.
United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has previously expressed his desire to see an overhaul of the Red Devils’ home stadium after his minority stake purchase.
However, Merson ruthlessly blasted the “absolutely embarrassing and cringeworthy” state of United both on the pitch and off it.
“I was at Old Trafford when the roof was leaking and I have to say the stadium was flooded,” he said in his column for Sportskeeda.
“This is one of the biggest clubs in the world and we’ve heard about a hole in their roof for god knows how long!
“It’s absolutely embarrassing and cringeworthy for a club of such stature to be going through what they are on and off the pitch.
“It’s quite sad but I’m not sure when they’ll be back as teams around them are just continuing to get better and better.
“I know there are cycles but it doesn’t look good for Manchester United and I think they don’t stand a chance of making it into the top four next season.
“They are a million miles off at the moment and things need to change drastically this summer for them to be in with a chance.”
Merson’s prediction for Man Utd vs Newcastle
Merson has admitted that he ‘expects’ Newcastle to win against United “easily” on their visit to Old Trafford.
The Arsenal hero has warned Erik ten Hag of the threat that Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon pose, with Merson backing a 3-1 scoreline for Newcastle.
“Newcastle United will have miles too much for Manchester United, I expect them to win this one quite easily,” Merson said.
“Arsenal played in second gear against Man United last weekend.
“If the Red Devils were still playing now, they still wouldn’t score – that’s how desperately devoid of ideas they were!
“With Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon up front, Manchester United won’t be able to cope, so I’m going for a 3-1 home win.”