A mouthwatering match-up on Tyneside, early pressure on Frank Lampard and the issue of crowd conduct
There could be no quibbling with Ralf Rangnick’s decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo for Tuesday’s game at Burnley. The 37-year-old provided evidence in the manager’s defence by adding to Manchester United’s catalogue of bungled opportunities after being introduced from the bench. Earlier in the season Ronaldo’s sharpness regularly saved United. Now he has gone five matches without a goal and Rangnick cannot ignore the fact that, when Ronaldo is not scoring, he does not offer much else, unlike Edinson Cavani. With a resurgent Southampton visiting Old Trafford this weekend and United still chronically fragile at the back, Rangnick will need to field forwards who can be relied upon to convert most of their chances if they are to avoid falling further behind in the race for the top four. Does he have any? PD
Manchester United v Southampton, Saturday 12.30pm (all-times GMT)
Norwich v Manchester City, Saturday 5.30pm
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