Manchester United cannot drop lower than 14th tonight but this week is bookended by two ominious-looking fixtures against teams in the top five.

Newcastle lost on their last visit to Old Trafford but also inflicted a 3-0 defeat on United in the League Cup last term. Eddie Howe's side have plundered 14 goals in their last four Premier League matches. That is two-thirds as many as United have managed in 18 games.

The conclusion of tonight's meeting marks the halfway point of the league season for United. There is a danger their domestic campaign could effectively end in January if their defence of the FA Cup ends after 90 minutes at Arsenal.

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As for tonight, here are five things to look out for:

Thin on the ground?

United assembled a sensibly-sized squad of 28 players at the start of the season but it started shrinking as soon as the Community Shield teamsheet was printed. Harry Amass, added to the first team squad in August, has barely participated in first team training, while Ethan Wheatley and Toby Collyer have hardly had a kick.

Factor in the three goalkeepers in the 28-man pool and suddenly United look shallow. Mason Mount and Luke Shaw are in the medical department so often they might as well have their own wards and Marcus Rashford is persona non grata on matchdays. Tonight, two more players are suspended and the alternative to Manuel Ugarte is Casemiro, a player in decline for 18 months and whom United looked to offload in the summer.

As the only other number six, Casemiro has to start against compatriots Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton. That is unlikely to fill United fans with confidence.

Gumption from Garnacho?

Alejandro Garnacho’s performances off the bench in the past three matches have not merited a recall to the starting XI and he was particularly feckless in gifting Wolves the ball for their clincher. With Bruno Fernandes also suspended, Garnacho probably has to start.

United do not have adequate playmakers to operate in Amorim's system and Garnacho has got one goal under the Portuguese. It is easy to see why a winger who joined a club renowned for wingers and now operate in a set-up with full backs for wingers has struggled. This is a period where Garnacho has to display the resilience that underpinned his impressive 2023-24 season.

The other United as favourites?

Tonight is fifth against 14th. And yet if all bookmakers installed Newcastle as favourites for a trip at Old Trafford it would still be newsworthy.

Newcastle have won once in the league at United since 1974 but they thumped them 3-0 in the League Cup last term and United have performed gutlessly in all three games at St James' Park since Eddie Howe took charge a little over three years ago.

A second winter of discontent?

How apposite that the previous occasion a United goalkeeper conceded directly from a corner in the league it was in December 2015. David de Gea's error contributed to a defeat at Bournemouth, the first of three successive league losses for United that month.

That was the last time United lost three in a row in the league and there is a high probability they will match that unwanted sequence tonight.

Amorim to shift again?

Two changes at Wolves signalled a shift from Amorim, who had made 42 changes across the previous eight games. With every fixture since the derby, United have got worse and Amorim needs to make more adjustments whilst he works with this omnishambles of a squad.

Persisting with Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui as wingers is futile. It is also possibly time to experiment up front as neither Rasmus Hojlund nor Joshua Zirkzee are competent starting strikers for United.