Manchester United stays in the Europa League B fee or rotates, and the 17-year-old demon is expected to appear! The Newcastle boss is out in hospital

Manchester United travel to St James' Park on Sunday to take on Newcastle United, and with the Premier League away from the top 10, boss Ruben Amorim is expected to recharge for the second leg of next week's Europa League quarter-finals, with a number of key players including captain Bruno Fernandes likely to rest. Seventeen-year-old centre-forward Chetdo Obi, who is expected to feature again, did not feature in United's under-21 team against Reading on Friday night, suggesting he has been named in the Premier League squad for the first team.

Obi was on the bench for the Manchester derby last week, but he was not registered for the Europa League and was not available for the midweek game against Lyon. Manchester United's Under-21s beat Reading 4-1 on Friday, but Obi was absent from the competition, which would normally mean Amorim would have included him in the squad for the game against Newcastle.

Manchester United's official website has hinted that the B-fee for full attendance may require a break. Interestingly, the Portuguese man has not missed a minute of a game since December, and the last time he was out was due to suspension against Newcastle.

On the potential squad for Newcastle, boss Amorim said: "I think the squad will be basically the same. We have a big responsibility, we don't have a really strong team to rotate without compromising and some players are not good enough to play the full 90 minutes right now. So we have to be careful to address those issues against Newcastle. Whatever the game, United have a huge responsibility and we have to put together a competitive squad to try to win the game.'

Obi's last senior appearance for Manchester United came in a 3-0 thrashing of Leicester City before the international break, and his last game was against Nottingham Forest on 7 April, when the 17-year-old Danish centre-forward scored a brace and the second goal was picked up from the halfway line and turned into a long-range shot that went viral on social media.

Manchester United's first-team centre-forward Hojlund continues his sluggish run and is likely to be relegated to the bench against Newcastle with a disappointing performance against Lyon, but another striker, Zirkze, is not a traditional no.9 and he plays better in a no.10 position.

The stats show that Hojlund has scored just one goal since December 12 last year, has failed to score in 21 games, and has scored just eight goals this season, and he has only 21 shots in the Premier League, with as many as 133 players in the league having no fewer shots than him. The 22-year-old Danish striker admits he doesn't know why it's so hard to score.

'I know it's a lot of pressure to play for Manchester United and if I wasn't willing to take responsibility, I wouldn't have chosen to wear the number nine shirt. "It wasn't my best season, I've had struggles in the past, but it's about sticking to my way and working on what needs to be improved and that's what I've been trying to do."

Zirkze scored off the bench in the Europa League, so he has a chance to start against Newcastle and will be hoping to get a shame out of being substituted before half-time in the first leg. The Dutch international revealed this week that the machine-gun celebration after his goal was not a parody of legendary Serie A striker Batistuta, but a reference to the movie Django Unchained. "That is from the scene where Dr. Kim Schultz taught Django to shoot at the snowman!" Zirkze said.

There will be a positive for Manchester United's trip to Newcastle, with Magpies boss Eddie Howe hospitalised on Friday and staying in hospital overnight to miss the Reds game, with assistant coaches Jason Tindall and Graeme Jones set to lead the squad on Sunday. However, Newcastle's top scorer Isak will be available for a groin injury, while winger Anthony Gordon has also returned to training.