Why Christian Eriksen is not in Manchester United squad vs Newcastle

Christian Eriksen is not in the squad as Manchester United take on Newcastle United on Sunday due to illness, Erik ten Hag has confirmed.

United will be looking to make it a fourth win in succession following two victories over Omonia Nicosia and a hard-fought triumph over Everton last weekend when they take on the visiting Magpies. Eddie Howe's team are in a great run of form themselves, having lost just once this season and are undefeated in their last four, scoring nine goals in their last two victories.

Getting all three points could be tough for United as they're missing several players for the match. The standout absentee is Eriksen, with the playmaker not starting in the Premier League for the first time this season. Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford has been named on the bench.

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Ten Hag has explained both selections, telling MUTV: "He's [Eriksen] ill, so we have some illness. Marcus Rashford also is under the weather also not feeling quite well but has enough energy to play a couple of minutes today in the game."

Anthony Martial also misses out on the match after being substituted in the first half at Goodison Park. There was hope he would return to face Newcastle but the Frenchman hasn't won the race to be fit for the fixture. However, Ten Hag insisted his squad should still be good enough to win the match.

"We can talk about the players who are not here but we have a squad and we have seen in the last couple of games how important the squad is. We have the confidence that they can do the job, that they can beat a tough opponent - we are aware of that - but we are confident to get a win in this game."

Harry Maguire, Donny van de Beek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are also injured