Friday 26 December 2014 14:08, UK
Newcastle must starve Manchester United of possession if they are to have any chance of securing a result at Old Trafford, according to manager Alan Pardew.
Newcastle travel to in-form United on Boxing Day on the back of three successive defeats, but they boast a reasonable record at Old Trafford: they drew 1-1 there in November 2011 and, more recently, ended a 41-year wait for a victory in December last year.
"We have had decent performances at Old Trafford, I think, in the last three," Pardew said.
"One of the reasons we have done well there is we have retained possession well, and that's something we are going to have to do because you can't turn possession over to Manchester United with the quality they have got up front.
"They are on a great run, and it's a game that every time you play them, you have to look forward to it.”
Possession is one part of the strategy but Pardew concedes Newcastle will have to lift their strike-rate if they are to take points from the Boxing Day fixture.
"We can raise our game, but we don't score a lot of goals, and that's something that is a concern, really, going into the second half of the season, how many goals we have scored,” he said.
"But when you play the top teams, you can keep it tight and one goal, two goals can sometimes be enough. But not always, and we need to score more goals."
Keeping the goals out at the other end will be the difficult task for 21-year-old keeper Jak Alnwick, while his team-mates will have to find a way past in-form Manchester United keeper David de Gea.
"There's a contrast in goal at the moment: Jak is on his second or third Premier League start, and De Gea pushing (Manuel) Neuer for the title of being the best goalkeeper in the world.
"De Gea is a fantastic shot-stopper…he makes it very difficult to score, so you have to go with power and go for the corners."
