Newcastle’s midfielders are some of the best in the league at drawing fouls. Bruno Guimaraes should be fit enough to start in this match meaning they will likely start with a midfield three of Longstaff, Guimaraes and Joelinton. Guimaraes draws 2.71 fouls per match, Longstaff draws 1.37 and Joelinton draws 1.07.

Newcastle have had a week off and their fully fit team will be full of energy, especially in the midfield. After his goal in midweek and an all-round excellent performance, I expect Fred to start at centre midfield alongside Casemiro. Fred has averaged 2.28 fouls per 90 and in his current role for Manchester United, he is often committing a lot of fouls per match. In his last 8 matches, Fred has committed at least 2 fouls in 7 of them, only failing to do so against Leicester City when he only played 58 minutes. With the atmosphere of a cup final, I expect a match with more fouls than usual so Fred has a good chance of committing 2 fouls here.

Newcastle have the most corners per match of any team in the league, averaging 6.91 corners per 90. Manchester United allow the 5th most corners of any team, conceding 5.67 corners per 90 on average. Newcastle will be fresh having had a week off in this match and will push forwards, they should comfortably hit a high number of corners. In 14 of their last 15 matches, Newcastle have had at least 4 corners, only failing to do so against Southampton. Manchester United have conceded at least 4 corners in 5 of their last 6 matches against teams that win a lot less corners than Newcastle do. Newcastle should comfortably surpass 3 corners in this match so I am backing them to have over 3.5 corners.

Similar to Newcastle, Manchester United’s midfielders are some of their most fouled players. Casemiro draws 1.39 fouls per 90, Bruno Fernandes draws 1.22 and Fred draws 1.19 fouls per 90. Back in Newcastle’s midfield will be Bruno Guimaraes after a spell on the sidelines with an injury, this may lead to some rustiness in the middle which could lead to him committing fouls. Guimaraes commits 1.42 fouls per 90 and has committed at least one foul in 7 of his last 10 matches. In a tense cup final atmosphere he will have to make challenges and commit tactical fouls, so I expect him to commit at least 1 foul here.

Two of Newcastle’s most dangerous players are their wingers. Almiron and Saint-Maximin are top wingers that are some of the hardest players to stop and draw a lot of fouls. They draw 1.36 and 1.24 fouls per 90 respectively and love to cut inside looking for opportunities to shoot. As Manchester United’s midfielders may start to tire having played in midweek, they will struggle to get back leaving space for Saint-Maximin and Almiron to cut inside into. When they cut inside they will be could be met by Lisandro Martinez who will have to step out of defence and make a tackle. Martinez averages 0.9 fouls per 90 and only a few United players attempt more tackles per 90 than him. As well as dealing with Callum Wilson up front, Lisandro Martinez will be busy in this match so is good value for a foul here.