EPL: Eddie Howe Plays Down Newcastle’s Recent Record Against Man United

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has played down his side’s impressive recent record against Manchester United, insisting it will have little bearing on Friday’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford.

The Magpies head into the game having won five of their last six meetings with United across all competitions, including four of the last five league encounters, following their 2-0 defeat in the 2023 League Cup final at Wembley.

However, Howe dismissed suggestions that those results — or the Wembley loss — have shaped his team’s mindset.

“I don’t know,” Howe said when asked if the cup final defeat had been a turning point.
“That was a painful moment, but I think you just go against every opponent in an honest way. My process is to see the strengths and weaknesses of the team that we’re playing against.

“You don’t particularly look at the name or who you’re playing as such, you just attack the game, then try to highlight those weaknesses and try to protect yours, so it doesn’t really change, the process is the same.”

The former Bournemouth boss stressed that form books and past results offer no guarantees.

“Our record has been good against Manchester United in recent games, but that counts for nothing in this game,” Howe added.
“It will be another independent game and as I say, they’ve improved, they’ve been really strong in the games — even the game at Aston Villa, where they didn’t win in their last match, I thought they were really strong and produced a good performance.”

Newcastle finished last season 10 places and 24 points above United, but go into the Boxing Day fixture three points behind their hosts after a 2-2 home draw with Chelsea on Saturday.

Record signing Nick Woltemade scored both goals in an impressive first-half display, further endearing himself to the Newcastle faithful.

“You can see that when he scores, he’s got a really good connection,” Howe said.
“You can see the crowd are really happy for him and he’s happy to embrace the celebrations with the crowd.

“I thought it was his best performance for the team on Saturday. I thought he played really well, especially in the first half.

“You saw his qualities returning for the team, really, in the sense that his linking play… he was dropping slightly lower on the pitch, he helped us build the ball through the thirds of the pitch, but most importantly when the ball arrived in the box, he was there.”

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