Manchester United vs. Newcastle United: Preview and TV schedule

If you thought Manchester United had put their poor start to the season behind them, you were most definitely wrong. Manager David Moyes suffered defeat at the hands of his former club Everton on Wednesday evening, leaving the Red Devils ninth in the table. They're now 12 points adrift of league leaders Arsenal, and are showing few signs of improvement.

They meet Newcastle United at Old Trafford on Saturday, with the Magpies form having taken a turn for the better in recent weeks. They suffered defeat to Swansea City on Wednesday but had won four league games on the bounce up until then, and are a point above United in the table. However, if they are to take victory it'll be only their second win over United in the last decade.

For Saturday's match United will be without midfielders Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher through injury and illness, while Robin van Persie hoping (and the fans praying) for a return from a groin injury. For Newcastle, Ryan Taylor is definitely sidelined with a long-term knee problem, while Papiss Cissé and Hatem Ben Arfa should be available again after illness ruled them out of the midweek fixture against Swansea.

Out: Michael Carrick (Achilles), Darren Fletcher (illness). In doubt: Robin van Persie (groin).

Newcastle United injuries and suspensions

Out: Ryan Taylor (knee). In doubt: Papiss Cissé (illness), Hatem Ben Arfa (illness).

Projected lineups

Manchester United: David De Gea; Patrice Evra, Jonny Evans, Nemanja Vidić, Chris Smalling; Phil Jones, Tom Cleverley; Danny Welbeck, Shinji Kagawa, Antonio Valencia; Wayne Rooney.

Newcastle United: Tim Krul; Davide Santon, Fabricio Coloccini, Mike Williamson, Mathieu Debuchy; Yoan Gouffran, Cheick Tioté, Yohan Cabaye, Moussa Sissoko; Shola Ameobi, Loïc Rémy.

Match Date/Time: Saturday, 12:45 p.m. local, 7:45 a.m. ET

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester, England

TV: NBC Sports Network, Mun2 (U.S.), Sportsnet (Canada), BT Sport 1 (U.K.).

Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.), MUTV Online (U.K. and international).