United have fallen behind in six of their nine games this season, including last weekend when Tottenham raced into an early lead and hung on for a 3-2 win that ended a 23-year barren run at Old Trafford.
A defence lacking captain Nemanja Vidic is sure to come under more scrutiny at St. James’ Park, with Newcastle having the top scorer in the league in Demba Ba.
Wayne Rooney: “It does bother us having to come from behind because we are losing those early goals.
“It is not nice and it is something that we have to stop because we cannot afford to keep letting teams get a head start on us.”
Sir Alex Ferguson: “The best quality both of them have (Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie) is that they can turn a game.
“That is an important feature. It doesn’t really matter if they have a personal combination, it is their ability to finish moves off, whether it is through Cleverley, Nani or Valencia.
“We have a pair of really top players who can finish and change a game.”