United looking to keep up strong PL tradition despite the loss of their talisman

Manchester United welcome Newcastle United to Old Trafford for the only Premier League Boxing Day fixture of the day. The Red Devils have played the Magpies 181 times in their history. United have won 92 times, whilst Newcastle have been victorious on 48 occasions. There have also been 41 draws between the two sides. Here are three things to look forward to in this festive cracker. Man United result history vs Newcastle MatchesWinsLossesDraws 181924841 Boxing Day delight According to The BBC, “Manchester United have won all three of their Premier League Boxing Day games against Newcastle.” Interestingly, the victories have all come under different managers, with Sir Alex Ferguson winning 4-3 in 2012, the Red Devils coming out on top 3-1 in 2014 under Louis van Gaal, and 4-1 in 2019 with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as manager. No team has won more Boxing Day fixtures in the league in their history than United, with 22 victories. What’s more, Newcastle have lost the joint-most on this date in the Premier League, with 16 defeats in all. On a poor run vs the Magpies The Red Devils have really struggled against Newcastle over the last few seasons. They have lost four of their last five league games against the Geordies. They also lost a League Cup tie 0-3 in the 2023-2024 season. Their struggles are recent, though, as they had only lost four of their previous 38 matches against Newcastle before their poor recent run began. Surviving without Bruno Fernandes Owing to the Africa Cup of Nations and injuries, United enter the Boxing Day contest as a wounded animal. Arguably the biggest loss is that of their captain, Bruno Fernandes, who picked up an injury against Aston Villa last time out. Incredibly, the Portuguese has only missed seven Premier League games since the 2022-2023 season. Sadly, in these fixtures, United have lost six and drawn one. What’s more, they have only scored four goals. United fans will hope Ruben Amorim’s side can cope much better this time around. Featured image George Wood via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.