Friday’s football tips: Newcastle a tasty 7/4 to topple depleted Red Devils at Old Trafford

Fahad Umar
December 25, 2025
1:51 pm

There’s a Boxing Day belter in the Premier League tonight as Newcastle United head to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United.

Both teams have probably underachieved this season but the Red Devils have been picking up more points and sit four places above the Magpies in the table.

Ruben Amorim is missing some key players though and Newcastle will see this game as a chance to fire themselves back into the hunt for European places.

Manchester United vs Newcastle United top betting tips

When Newcastle came to Old Trafford almost exactly a year ago they bullied Amorim’s side in midfield and eased to a comfortable 2-0 win.

There’s no doubt Manchester United have improved thanks to some smart signings but Bryan Mbuemo is away at the Africa Cup of Nations along with winger Amad Diallo and utility man Noussair Mazraoui.

Skipper Bruno Fernandes is also injured so that makes me think Newcastle could come out on top again tonight and they’re a decent price at 7/4 with Betfred.

Anthony Gordon was superb in the 2-2 draw with Chelsea at St James’ Park and played a key role in both goals. The winger is 29/20 at William Hill to score or assist and that looks good, given Manchester United conceded four times in their last home game against Bournemouth.

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Coventry City vs Swansea City

EFL Championship leaders Coventry City have started to wobble a little so they will be desperate to roar back to form when Swansea come calling today.

After a stunning run of 10 wins in 11 games, Frank Lampard’s men have claimed just one victory in their last four outings.

But three of those games were away from home and City have racked up seven consecutive victories at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

So it’s no surprise to see them as 5/6 favourites today and I’m going to boost those odds to 21/20 at Bet365 by adding on over 1.5 goals.

Swansea’s last four games have hit double figures for corners so there could be some value in backing over 10.5 corners at evens with Paddy Power.

Middlesbrough vs Blackburn Rovers

Middlesbrough are doing a decent job of hunting down Coventry in the title race and should bank another three points today at home to struggling Blackburn.

New boss Kim Hellberg led Boro to four succeessive wins but his dream start ended last time out with a 2-0 defeat at Bristol City.

The Swede will be looking to bounce back straight away against a Rovers side who sit in 20th place after a poor run of form.

A five-game run without a win saw Blackburn tumble down the table but they won 2-0 at home to Millwall in their last outing.

That will give boss Valerien Ismael some hope heading to the Riverside, although Middlesbrough are 4/5 favourites with most firms.

BTTS has come up in eight of the last nine games for Boro so combining both teams to score and over 2.5 goals stands a good chance today at 13/10 with Coral.

Slovak striker David Strelec has scored in two of his last three outings for Hellberg’s side so he looks worth a punt for anytime scorer at 23/10 with BetMGM.