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Man Utd v Newcastle team news: Martinez starts

26 December 2025 948 comments
Skonto Rigga Skonto Rigga
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The festive fixture bonanza begins tonight at Old Trafford as Manchester United host Newcastle United.

The 20:00 GMT kick-off not only gets Gameweek 18 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) underway but also begins a run of 40 Premier League matches in 14 days.

TEAM NEWS

How will United get on without Bruno Fernandes? This is the first time he’s been absent from a league squad in almost exactly a year, with his last missed match ironically being Newcastle at home in December 2024. The Red Devils lost 2-0.

He’s injured and makes way from the line-up tonight but Casemiro returns from a one-match suspension to take his place.

Lisandro Martinez also comes in for his first United start in over 10 months. He replaces Leny Yoro in the only other alteration Ruben Amorim has made to the side beaten at Aston Villa.

Newcastle, meanwhile, are unchanged from the 2-2 draw with Chelsea last Saturday.

There’s no Anthony Elanga, who reportedly has an ankle injury.

Nick Pope does make his return after a month out with a groin issue but is only among the substitutes.

£4.4m FPL midfielder Lewis Miley continues at right-back.

LINE-UPS

Manchester United XI: Lammens, Heaven, Martinez, Shaw, Dalot, Ugarte, Casemiro, Dorgu, Mount, Cunha, Sesko.

Subs: Bayindir, Zirkzee, Malacia, Yoro, Fredricson, J Fletcher, T Fletcher, Lacey, Mantato.

Newcastle United XI: Ramsdale, Miley, Thiaw, Schar, Hall, Bruno Guimaraes, Tonali, Ramsey, Jacob Murphy, Woltemade, Gordon.

Subs: Pope, Joelinton, Wissa, Barnes, Willock, A Murphy, Shahar, Neave, Alabi.

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948 Comments Login to Post a Comment
  1. FPL Blow-In
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Thanks be to jeebus Yoro is dropped

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  2. Atimis
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Didn’t play BB after all, have to do it next week, I think folks made really good decisions just hitting it at the start of the season

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    1. Mr. O'Connell
      10 months, 1 day ago

      Yeah best time to play it is gameweek 1 as you're guaranteed not to get a red arrow

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      1. NZREDS
        10 months, 1 day ago

        Lmao this so is so true

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        1. NZREDS
          10 months, 1 day ago

          This is so*

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      2. Atimis
        10 months, 1 day ago

        Folks that went early for Burnley really benefited

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    2. NZREDS
      10 months, 1 day ago

      Who you got for next week?

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      1. Atimis
        10 months, 1 day ago

        Same poor ones but could move Potts to 6.5mid for free

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    3. Nightcrawler
      10 months, 1 day ago

      not really. with the afcon transfers i think the best time was between 16 or 17, also gets u a strong bench for this uncertain period

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    4. Revival
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      10 months, 1 day ago

      used mine GW8, went big on Sunderland and Burnley defenders clean sheets and goals meant got 36 points extra from it.

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      1. Atimis
        10 months, 1 day ago

        Christ!

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  3. JT11fc
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Im a sucker for punishment so I got Gordon, for the 3rd time...... 1st time RC, 2nd time injury, 3rd time we gonna cook

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    1. keefy59
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      10 months, 1 day ago

      A bit of a risk as he's not getting the minutes at the moment

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      1. JT11fc
        10 months, 1 day ago

        Ye def annoying that, just relying on reduced mins over Cunha not having Bruno etc

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    2. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
      10 months, 1 day ago

      I had him those two times too. Never again I told myself

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      1. JT11fc
        10 months, 1 day ago

        Such a let down, what have I done....

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  4. boombaba
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Heaven nailed ?

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    1. JT11fc
      10 months, 1 day ago

      Until De ligt or Maguire Id say

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  5. ViperStripes
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    10 months, 1 day ago

    FH19 anyone had a go at a team yet?

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    1. Bobby Digital
      10 months, 1 day ago

      I'm on three LIV, MCI, NEW and two MUN.

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    2. Fifa las vegas
      10 months, 1 day ago

      Currently:

      Ramsdale
      Frimpong, O’Reilly, Dalot
      Foden, Wirtz, Gordon, Cunha
      Haaland, Ekitike, Sesko

      Shite bench. Lot of risks in this though, so don’t see it lasting. Wouldn’t mind Palmer if knew he was to be guaranteed minutes against Bournemouth

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      1. Fifa las vegas
        10 months, 1 day ago

        So a bit like Bobby above, it’s 3 LIV, MCI, UTD & 2 NEW

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      2. Fifa las vegas
        10 months, 1 day ago

        Abandoning my 2 Arsenal players and Rogers for the week, though I’m not sure it’s wise to move them all out, particularly Rice

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  6. Freshy
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Gameweek 19 squad question

    Sanchez-(Dubravka)
    Timber-Chalobah-Guéhi-(Cash-Gudmundson)
    Saka(VC)-Foden-Cherki-Rogers-Rice
    Haaland(C)-Ekitiké-(Guiu)

    I'm between 2 choices (3.1 bank)

    A - Guiu out for Woltemade (0.0 bank) before Wolte price rise
    GW19 and GW 20 should have the most need for a top bench
    B - Improve defense (wait)

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  7. PartyTime
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Lol… 😆 it will be funny to see Lisandro Martinez man marking Woltemade

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    1. Sheffield Wednesday
      10 months, 1 day ago

      Little guys get away with so much more foul play than tall ones. Unconscious bias by officials.

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      1. PartyTime
        10 months, 1 day ago

        😆 I know. Just think the height difference is huge so I guess we’ll see how this one plays out

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        1. Bennerman
          10 months, 1 day ago

          Why would he be man-marking him?

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          1. PartyTime
            10 months, 1 day ago

            Set-piece occasions in defence. Some managers prefer the short-tall man marking system in order to draw fouls easily

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            1. Bennerman
              10 months, 1 day ago

              Horse manure

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              1. PartyTime
                10 months, 1 day ago

                1. Drawing Fouls: A taller player may be more likely to give away a foul when challenged by a shorter player, as the height difference can lead to awkward contact and potentially a "Napoleon complex" in referees who are inclined to call fouls more often when players are significantly taller than them.

                2. Preventing the Turn (Man-marking from behind): In a man-marking system, a shorter defender might be tasked with preventing a tall forward from receiving the ball or turning to face the goal. The defender will get physically tight to the forward, using their body weight and low center of gravity to put constant pressure from behind, disrupting the forward's control and forcing them to lay the ball off to a teammate

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                1. Bennerman
                  10 months, 1 day ago

                  Cut and paste as much drivel, or ask AI or whatever, all you want.

                  Embarrassment.

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                  1. PartyTime
                    10 months, 1 day ago

                    Ho-Ho-Ho Cheers!

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                    1. Bennerman
                      10 months, 1 day ago

                      HO HO HO cheers

                      Insane bro

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                  2. Kaneyonero
                    10 months, 1 day ago

                    You seem very hurt my bro lol

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            2. Gazwaz80
              10 months, 1 day ago

              Or, you were being sarcastic 😀

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  8. Tripleh123
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Which 2 players for next few weeks?

    A. Bowen
    B. Cunha

    1. Harry Wilson
    2. Minteh

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    1. boombaba
      10 months, 1 day ago

      A and B

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    2. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
      10 months, 1 day ago

      B1

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      1. boombaba
        10 months, 1 day ago

        1 is injured

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  9. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Another hit, and Palmer's in for Semenyo

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  10. Nightcrawler
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Chips weeks aside, my best GW rank this season has been 800k. ridiculously hard to have a very good gw unless youre on a chip

    shocking lack of attacking options, and very hard to gain rank. Feels like u just have to wait and hope to hold ur rank then pounce when its chip time

    i hope its not going to be this boring again until the DGWs roll in

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    1. PartyTime
      10 months, 1 day ago

      1M is the new 100k buddy. Began accepting this since 2020.

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      1. Nightcrawler
        10 months, 1 day ago

        i dont think its necessarily hard to get a good rank if u play boring but i dont think i have the patience for it.

        its the first time im playing cash leagues so have played very boring, but my patience is running out

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        1. PartyTime
          10 months, 1 day ago

          Play boring with the armband is my approach for the 2nd half of the season because whenever I use an unorthodox approach, I often get punished.

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    2. Pep's Money Laundry
      10 months, 1 day ago

      This will be the case unless you take a punt on captain

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      1. Nightcrawler
        10 months, 1 day ago

        what this game needs is a haaland injury to break all hell loose

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    3. Captain Mal
      10 months, 1 day ago

      It probably depends on how template/differential your team is.
      I had GW ranks of 75k, 195k and 235k, but I've also had three 8m+ GW ranks.

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  11. Sun Jihai
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Top 10k EO:
    Haaland 182.3
    Foden 88.5
    Ekitiké 86.7
    Saka 56.1
    Raya 50.7
    Semenyo 46.6
    J.Timber 45.3
    O'Reilly 41.9
    Thiago 41.1
    Rice 38.5
    Virgil 36.9
    Rogers 36.9
    Cunha 31.6
    Guéhi 30.2
    Wilson 28.8
    Andersen 20.9
    Wirtz 16.4
    Hincapie 15.7
    Chalobah 15
    Woltemade 14.7
    Keane 12.7
    Dúbravka 12
    Senesi 11.4
    Gvardiol 11.2
    Calvert-Lewin 10.7
    Sánchez 10.1

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    1. Brosstan
      10 months, 1 day ago

      Oh joyous day with 0 spies in the team

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    2. Sun Jihai
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      10 months, 1 day ago

      Ekitike was 22% last GW lol
      FPL very much about getting on bandwagon before they take off!

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      1. Brosstan
        10 months, 1 day ago

        People still have the 5 AFCON transfers to spend.. so its gonna take a few weeks before any real differentials can appear.

        I had Ekitike and Rogers already last GW... Rival now spent 3 transfers to basically copy my differentials. BORING.

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      2. FantasyClub
        10 months, 1 day ago

        Well thats what its about. Jumping on first

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    3. Nightcrawler
      10 months, 1 day ago

      i have the toip 8 yikes. another boring gw coming up with minimal rank change

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  12. Brosstan
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Dorgu OOP, RW.

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  13. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Mount and Cunha double up?

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    1. Magic Zico
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      10 months, 1 day ago

      Casemiro

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    2. chocolove
      10 months, 1 day ago

      Casemiro Ugarte

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  14. Supersonic_
    10 months, 1 day ago

    So my entire ML pretty much went Haaland over Ekitike... dont let me down lad.

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  15. Revival
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    10 months, 1 day ago

    B̶o̶x̶i̶n̶g̶ D̶a̶y̶ B̶e̶r̶b̶a̶

    B̶o̶x̶i̶n̶g̶ D̶a̶y̶ B̶r̶u̶n̶o̶ F̶e̶r̶n̶a̶n̶d̶e̶s̶

    Boxing Day Bruno Guimaraes

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  16. Bobby Digital
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Ramsdale done his hammy

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  17. Brosstan
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Lucky Pope owners

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  18. FPL Blow-In
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Lucky lucky Pope owners

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  19. FPL Blow-In
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Eddie Howe you sly little git

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  20. Mother Farke
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Pope's Christmas message incoming.

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    1. Count of Monte Hristo
      10 months, 1 day ago

      Interested to hear his thoughts on Ramsdale.

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  21. FPL Blow-In
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Sesko! Wrap your foot around it ffs

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    1. Brosstan
      10 months, 1 day ago

      Or tee up Cunha... no awareness

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      1. FPL Blow-In
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        10 months, 1 day ago

        Either or would have been better than that garbage

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      2. NZREDS
        10 months, 1 day ago

        This

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  22. Sun Jihai
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Dorgu at 4.1m could be a solid punt next GW

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  23. PartyTime
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Early pressure from Newcastle. Man utd getting choked

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  24. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Already regretting buying Cunha

    The attack is useless

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  25. FPLShaqiri
    10 months, 1 day ago

    How many of this Man United XI get into this Newcastle side? Just with the players in the pitch.

    My combined XI would have 8 Newcastle and 3 Man U.

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    1. Nutmeg Ninja
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      10 months, 1 day ago

      2. Cunha RW, Dalot RB

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      1. Brosstan
        10 months, 1 day ago

        Hard no to Dalot. Lammens in goal.

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    2. FPL Blow-In
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      10 months, 1 day ago

      Laments over Ramsdale
      Dalot over Miley
      Martinez over Schar (debatable)
      Cunha and Mount over Ramsey and Murphy with change of formation

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  26. NZREDS
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Soft foul on Bruno that

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  27. Brosstan
    10 months, 1 day ago

    What the hell... Taylor giving FKs for nothing.. terrible refereeing so far slowing the game down.

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  28. Magic Zico
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Dorgu!

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  29. g40steve
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Dorgu G

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  30. FPL Blow-In
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    10 months, 1 day ago

    Patrick!!!

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