Newcastle United vs. Manchester United: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info

Newcastle United vs. Manchester United sees Louis van Gaal's side looking for a key three points against John Carver's men. 

Manchester United sit in fourth place in the league, a point behind Arsenal and just two points clear of a resurgent Liverpool. With the Red Devils' fixture list over the coming month a who's who of England's top teams, it is crucial that they go into the upcoming tough run in good form. 

Newcastle United have less at stake. They are 11th in the table, far enough away from the relegation places to be comfortable, and too far from the European places for that to be a realistic target. 

However, there is considerable history between these two clubs, and under the floodlights at St. James' Park, it is hard to imagine Newcastle giving it any less than their all. Van Gaal, meanwhile, will be hoping for a repeat of his side's Boxing Day defeat of the Magpies. 

"

Louis van Gaal recalls December's 3-1 win over Newcastle, ahead of facing the Magpies again tomorrow... #mufc https://t.co/Sb68ATnsUs

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 3, 2015 "

Date: Wednesday 4 March 2015

Time: 7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. EST

Venue: St. James' Park, Newcastle

TV Info: BT Sport 1, BT Sport 1 HD (UK Only) / Premier League Extra Time (US Only)

Live Stream: Sport.BT.Com (UK Only) / NBC Sports Live Extra (US only)

Form Lines

Newcastle: WDDLW

Manchester United: DWWLW

Team News

Newcastle's Massadio Haidara is "almost certain to miss" this game, per the Press Association (h/t Daily Mail), with the report also reporting that Ryan Taylor is "set to mark his own return from injury." 

It also stated that "Remy Cabella (knee), Rolando Aarons (hamstring) and Robbie Elliott (thigh) are all set to resume training next week."

Matthew Lewis/Getty Images

For Manchester United, Robin van Persie is now the only name on the injury list, although Van Gaal told MUTV that this game has come "too early" for Michael Carrick, who is back in training, but not yet ready for first team action, (h/t ManUtd.com).

Predicted Lineups

Team Stream from Bleacher Report

Manchester United's XI is often hard to guess. This week's key selection dilemma may be between Angel Di Maria and Adnan Januzaj. United's fortunes improved considerably against Sunderland when Januzaj replaced Di Maria. 

Van Gaal may have told MUTV that Di Maria "suffered a bad day," (h/t ManUtd.com) but he also stressed that "he can be the best player in the world in the next match so I think everything is going well." It will be intriguing to see which way Van Gaal leans with his selection. 

For Newcastle United, Carver may prefer Emmanuel Riviere to Ayoze Perez, or play Vurnon Anita alongside Mehdi Abeid in midfield, with Moussa Sissoko behind Papiss Cisse.

Players to Watch 

Radamel Falcao's recent form could generously be described as "erratic" but just before his substitution against Sunderland, he produced a moment of sublime skill. His touch to bring the ball under his control—before he was brought down for a penalty—was sublime. Manchester United's quest for a Champions League place will greatly benefit if he can somehow find some form. 

Wayne Rooney was back on the scoresheet against Sunderland, and he has produced plenty of moments of magic against Newcastle in the past. 

From Newcastle's perspective, Papiss Cisse will be key. This season has also seen Sammy Ameobi make a first-team place his own, and his pace, power and invention could cause Manchester United's fragile defence some problems. 

Key Battle

Ander Herrera and Daley Blind made more successful passes between them than the whole Sunderland team in Saturday's game, per Squawka.com. Their contest with Newcastle's midfield, whatever its make up, will be a key battle ground. While Manchester United's away record would suggest that statistic is unlikely to repeat on Wednesday, it will nonetheless be crucial for Manchester United's midfield duo to perform well. 

Cisse's battle with the Red Devils' defensive partnership and David De Gea could also be crucial.

Odds

The odds for the game, at the time of writing, per Odds Shark are: 

Newcastle United Win: +320

Draw: +250

Manchester United Win: +104

With thanks to Jonny Gabriel Sharples for Newcastle United input. You can follow Jonny on Twitter here.