My first impression was that somehow the thread guide was out of whack, somehow, but not sure why that would be. It has been suggested that sometimes it is good to take off the needle clamp and clean out the slot on the needle bar that the needle goes in and maybe there is something (dried oil, lint, ???). Other than that, I don't have any suggestions.
Looking at the manual, there aren't two needle plates, one for straight stitch and the other for zig-zag. Maybe try slowly turning the hand wheel and see if the needle still hits the plate. Maybe without the presser foot? Is it a left homing machine?