Manchester United have been handed a huge lift in terms of team news ahead of Saturday's evening contest against Newcastle United.

Jose Mourinho confirmed in his Friday afternoon press conference that Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Marcos Rojo are a part of the squad after finally recovering from their injuries.

Victory crucial

United will go into the game at Old Trafford desperate to collect maximum points after a recent dip in form left them eight points adrift of league leaders Manchester City.

Prior to the international break, Mourinho's side picked up a hard-earned 1-0 win against Tottenham, before travelling to Chelsea the following week, where they left empty-handed yet again in a 1-0 defeat. Newcastle, on the other hand, haven't fared much better recently, recording two 1-0 losses at the hands of Burnley and Bournemouth.

Team News

As mentioned before, the breaking team news is that Pogba, Ibrahimovic, and Rojo are ready to feature, as Mourinho stated:

"All three selected for the match."

"With Paul... I can speak because he's back and I didn't like to speak when he was injured. Manchester United this season before the injury and after the injury there are qualities in our football."

"Zlatan, last season, we played with him every minute almost until he was injured. This season we learned how to play without him."

"We've played in a different way but he's a very important player for us and of course welcomed back."

Meanwhile, Phil Jones and Michael Carrick remain doubts following minor injuries.

Predicted XI

David De Gea - The Spaniard has been in his customary top form this season, having obtained eight clean sheets in the 11 games so far, and he looks set to stay in goal for this match.

Antonio Valencia - With Mourinho likely to revert back to a 4-2-3-1, Valencia is prepared to drop a little further from the Tottenham and Chelsea games to right-back.

Chris Smalling - As Jones picked up a knock on England duty, Smalling looks likely to fill in for his compatriot, whilst Victor Lindelof continues to work for a place in the Premier League XI.

Eric Bailly - Bailly has featured in eight of the 11 Premier League contests so far and there is nothing to suggest he will be out of the 12th. The Ivorian has won 63.64% of his tackles when playing in the domestic league this season.

Ashley Young - Luke Shaw looks no closer to making a return to the team, leaving Young (who made a comeback to the England team after four years away) as the obvious option to continue at left-back due to Darmian and Blind's inconsistent form.

Paul Pogba - Yes, it may be a risk to place Pogba straight into the team for the visit of Newcastle after a 12-week absence, but United have desperately missed his flair in midfield and the background staff will surely be eager to get him playing as soon as possible.

Nemanja Matic - Matic has featured in all Premier League games so far as the midfield enforcer and, with Pogba hopefully returning alongside him, the encouraging early-season partnership can return to raise United's form.

Juan Mata - Mata missed out on the starting side for the last three fixtures but could come back to ply his trade on the right of United's attacking three behind the striker.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan - Although Mkhitaryan has come in for criticism after numerous poor performances recently, Mourinho is unlikely to adopt a change with limited options in this role. Ibrahimovic could well appear in this position at some time, having spoken of his desire to play at number 10.

Marcus Rashford - As the left-sided winger, Rashford will be hoping to cause menace on the flank to tire out the Newcastle full-back, allowing Mourinho to continue his theme of switching him for Martial late in the game in order to grab a goal. The Frenchman has already scored 4 times in the Premier League this campaign from similar situations.

Romelu Lukaku - Following a scintillating start to his United career, Lukaku had gone seven games without a goal before adding two to his Belgium tally on international duty to make him their all-time top scorer. The number 9 will be hoping that Pogba's return to the team means more chances for Lukaku to seize.

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