OPINION
Rafa Benitez must not play Newcastle United attacker Ayoze Perez against Manchester United on Saturday in order to give his side the best chance of securing a shock win against the troubled side.
The Magpies are yet to pick up three points this season but have been gifted an opportunity to overcome Man United as it seems like there is enough drama going on at Old Trafford to air a soap opera.
Not only are Man United struggling to achieve the results expected of them there appears to be a storm brewing after Sky Sports captured footage of Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba exchanging words during training.
The Magpies may have not been firing on all cylinders this season but they should be able to beat a team ripping apart at the seams if Benitez gets his team selection right.
This means the Spanish manager has to effectively lock one of his players away and keep him as far away from the starting line-up as possible.
The player in question is Perez who has been a liability this season by wasting chance after chance and not contributing anywhere near enough.
The 5ft 10in tall 25-year-old (Source: Transfermarkt) has made pointless run after pointless run in his eight outings of the season so far and looks far from clinical when in front of goal.
Perez has had opportunity to score, like the clear-cut chance he had against Crystal Palace, but he constantly is fluffing his lines at the moment.
While teammate Joselu has also been frustrating to watch, it says something that the Magpies forward at least has two goals to show from brief moments of excellence.
Man United will no doubt not be at their best once again on Saturday but it doesn’t mean the Magpies can have a player on the pitch who will waste his chance to earn his side a unexpected victory.
Perez has shown in his recent outings that he can’t be trusted to finish his dinner let alone bag his side a goal, even if one is put on a plate for him.
This means that Benitez has to play other options rather than Perez in order to pave a way to a victory over Manchester United on Saturday as it would be a shame if the Magpies couldn’t take advantage of their out-of-shape opponents.
