Newcastle striker Alexander Isak has credited his team's high intensity, out-of-possession work rate for their upturn in form ahead of Monday night's trip to Manchester United.

After losing to Brentford 4-2 at the beginning of December, the Magpies have managed to turn things around spectacularly with a winning streak of four matches in a row in all competitions. In that time, Newcastle have scored 14 goals and are arguably one of the worst opponents for United to face at present.

The Reds currently find themselves in a rut having lost three matches in a row. Defeats to AFC Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers were particularly uninspiring and have left United sitting just eight points above the relegation zone.

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After beating Aston Villa 3-0 on Boxing Day, Isak spoke to Chronicle Live about the secret to their current success and it is perhaps bad news for four United players. "I think it is important that we play with the same intensity away from home as we do at St James' Park," the Swede said.

"It helped us get off to a great start at Ipswich recently. And after that, we kept the same level throughout the game.

"We are winning the ball a lot high up the pitch and this generates a lot of chances for me. We are creating a lot of chances and those are the type of games you love as a striker."

Should this gameplan be used to its full effect on Monday, it looks like Andre Onana and his three centre-backs will be targeted by the Newcastle press which could spell bad news for Ruben Amorim's side. United have not dealt brilliantly with teams that like to win the ball back high in the opposing team's half and Amorim will be hopeful of masterminding a solution that beats the away side's press.