Man Utd's flight to Newcastle cancelled ahead of Saturday evening clash

The Manchester United first-team were forced to make alternative travel plans for Saturday’s trip to Newcastle United after their flight was cancelled earlier in the day.

The Red Devils return to Premier League action with a tough fixture up at St James’ Park, and a win would see them move above Tottenham Hotspur into fifth place ahead of Spurs’ meeting with Manchester City on Sunday.

However, United’s preparations have been less than ideal. After only arriving back from Turkey late on Wednesday after their Champions League trip to Galatasaray, Erik ten Hag’s squad had their Saturday morning flight to the north-east of England cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.

Instead, United‘s travelling cohort will head up to Newcastle via coach – a journey which is expected to last around three hours.

The UK is currently gripped by frosty conditions and snowy weather, with temperatures set to plummet down to -1c at St James’ Park by the time Saturday’s match kicks off at 8pm GMT – a time rearranged to allow both teams more recovery time from their midweek Champions League exploits.

Ten Hag’s men were beaten in this fixture last season / Ahmad Mora/GettyImages

Despite such cold conditions and United’s travel disruption, the match is not in any danger of being postponed. United’s clash with Galatasaray on Wednesday was at risk of being cancelled due to heavy rain in Istanbul, but Rams Park groundsmen managed to drain the pitch appropriately and an entertaining 3-3 draw played out.

Meanwhile, Newcastle head into Saturday’s fixture having been denied a famous win at Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday. The Magpies led 1-0 for much of the evening thanks to a first-half goal from Alexander Isak, but a controversial penalty awarded for handball against Tino Livramento allowed Kylian Mbappe to equalise deep into second-half stoppage time.

Newcastle will move above United in the Premier League standings with three points on Saturday.