Newcastle wait on Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson fitness ahead of Man Utd trip

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Newcastle strikers Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson are facing a race against time to be fit for Wednesday night’s crucial Premier League showdown with Manchester United. The Magpies head for Old Trafford sitting sixth in the table, two places and three points better off than the hosts and knowing a positive result would mean Erik ten Hag’s men could not catch them on the final day of the campaign and that another season of European football would be tantalisingly close. Newcastle boss Eddie Howe Injury problems – Wilson is three games into his return after missing 10 following surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle – have blighted him in recent seasons, and while acknowledging finding a replacement this summer could prove hugely expensive, Howe admitted that availability would be a consideration when assessing the 32-year-old’s future on Tyneside. I have to get the balance right between doing that and exposing ourselves in other areas, where the money might need to go.” In the shorter term, Howe and his players will concentrate on the task of trying to complete a first league double over Manchester United since the 1930-31 season, one Howe insists will prove far from straightforward despite Ten Hag’s much-publicised problems.