MX23RW : Thursday, November 14 07:12:21| >> :120:26376:26376:

Chris Smalling urges Manchester United to "set the benchmark"

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling wants his team to capitalise on the fact that they play Newcastle United early on Saturday afternoon.

Chris Smalling has encouraged his Manchester United teammates to make the most of the fact that they play before any of their Premier League rivals for the third game running this weekend.

The Red Devils faced both Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa in early Premier League kickoffs, both of which ended in 1-0 victories for Louis van Gaal's side.

With Newcastle United next up at Old Trafford on Saturday, centre-back Smalling has insisted that the Red Devils must once again take advantage of playing first.

"We must continue our good start. It is another home game and we have to assert ourselves early on," he told MUTV.

"It is good that we again get to be in the first game that plays and, hopefully, set the benchmark for the weekend."

The visiting Magpies have won at Old Trafford just once since 1972.

ID:240377: cacheID:240377:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:1723:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
The Manchester United team pose during the UEFA Champions League Qualifying Round Play Off First Leg match between Manchester United and Club Brugge at Old Trafford on August 18, 2015
Read Next:
Man United 3-1 Brugge: Five talking points
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Chelsea115422113819
4Arsenal115421812619
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest115421510519
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
7Fulham115331613318
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
9Aston Villa115331717018
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1151523131016
11Brentford115152222016
12Bournemouth114341515015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester112451421-710
16Everton112451017-710
17Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
18Crystal Palace11146815-77
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
20Southampton11119721-144


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!