With a shoestring squad and a tight group of teams in midtable, any dropped points during the festive period could prove to be costly for Manchester United. It'll be even tougher with Newcastle United being one of the teams looking to catch them in the league.

With Manchester United's kids getting meaningful minutes, Dorgu having his best game in the shirt, and veterans Manuel Ugarte and Lisandro Martinez stepping up to lead, Amorim won in so many ways on Friday.

Amorim may have learned a lesson in the second half, when a handful of substitutions saw United return to their usual system and lose all control of the game. Thankfully for the boss, Newcastle offered very little threat and failed to make the most of their second-half dominance.

Manchester United Predicted XI vs Newcastle UnitedManchester United return to Old Trafford on Boxing Day with Newcastle United providing stern opposition, as Ruben Amorim continues his second season

Manchester United got a bit of praise for their performance against Aston Villa, even though they were beaten. The key to how this game goes is what they do without Bruno Fernandes, and how they are going to cope without him. You look around Ruben Amorim's squad and he does not seem to have a lot of leaders in there.

Manchester United are seeking a first home victory in two months when they host Newcastle United in Boxing Day’s sole Premier League fixture.