Can out-of-form United give Toon a shred of hope?

BOTTTOM-TABLE MAGPIES ARE DESPERATE

advantage of anything are they? They have absolutely no focal point in attack, no sustained supply line or penetration wide and no breakers from midfield, where Jonjo Shelvey and Mo Diame can sit so deep they are treading on the toes of defender Jamaal Lascelles. Caution is the byword and timidity never won a fair lady!

Four goals from seven matches is a poor return. Can Yoshinori Muto provide the answer? He is the only untried one but there is nothing in his record or from his fleeting substitutes’ appearances to encourage that belief.

However, we live in hope. Someone saw something to pay £9.5m.

Salomon Rondon is injured and the cupboard appears as bare as Old Mother Hubbard’s!

Man for man the home side should win, of course, but this game is played in the head as well as on grass and both sets of players are brittle of mind.

Rarely have so many superstars like Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku, and Paul Pogba looked drained of ideas and drive – a sure sign all is not well.

Pogba, indeed, is in open warfare with his manager and has been stripped of the vice-captaincy.

Can Newcastle take advantage? Have they enough within their line up to be able to make it count?

Mourinho has hated coming to Newcastle in the past from his Chelsea days. Maybe, just maybe, he will hate playing us at Old Trafford.

Since winning on the opening day of the season Mourinho has seen his team fail to triumph in any of four home league and cup matches over an eight-week period.

Tomorrow teatime either provides Man U with a great opportunity to break that run or Newcastle a rare chance to strike gold. Take your pick.

One thing is certain – the days of the mid-1990s when these proud clubs finished one and two in the Premier League are no more.

Points not pizzas are what are desperately required in these parts.