Tuesday’s Premier League action wraps up at Villa Park as high-flying Aston Villa and European hopefuls Newcastle United lock horns, looking to return to winning ways.
Having suffered a 5-1 thrashing in the reverse fixture back in August, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa will seek retribution against Newcastle United and continue their push for a top-four finish this midweek.
The Villans are enduring a bit of a rocky patch after a fast start to the season. It has not been a total disaster, and Aston Villa are still getting points on board. But they are not looking as unbeatable as they did just a few weeks ago.
The hosts were involved in a goalless draw for a second successive game as they played out a tightly-contested game with Chelsea in their FA Cup fourth-round tie on Friday, following on from their 0-0 draw at Everton last time out in the Premier League.
The main recent blot on their copybook is the Boxing Day collapse at Old Trafford, where they squandered a two-goal half-time lead and were beaten 3-2. Aston Villa have also relied on late goals to salvage results against Brentford, Middlesbrough, Sheffield United, and Burnley. So, they do not come into the match at the peak of their powers.
But it has still been a stunning season, with the prospect of UEFA Champions League qualification — and maybe even a shock title push — still on the table heading into the final months of the campaign.
Newcastle, meanwhile, punched their ticket in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Saturday thanks to a 2-0 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage. The Toon were far from at their best, especially in the first half. But the victory came as a huge relief as it not only kept a dream of silverware alive when all else had died prematurely, but it also allows them to go to Aston Villa on Tuesday night without being lower than a snake’s belly.
Prior to that, they swatted aside local rivals Sunderland in the previous round of the FA Cup, and only another late goal stopped them from getting something from Premier League champions Manchester City. Sitting 14 points outside the top 4 in the Premier League, head coach Eddie Howe will hope the cup win can serve as impetus for a fine run of form in the second half of their league campaign.
Team News & Tactics
Aston Villa
While Newcastle United continue to see swathes of players struck down by injury, Aston Villa have ridden out the first part of the season relatively well in terms of dealing with absentees.
The Villans are dealing with several injuries heading into this one, though, as Emiliano Buendia is confined to the treatment room alongside fellow long-term absentee Tyrone Mings, while Pau Torres (ankle), Robin Olsen (unspecified), and Jacob Ramsey (thigh) are all ruled out. However, Lucas Digne is inching closer to a return from a thigh issue.
Unai Emery is also working around the absence of one Africa Cup of Nations representative in the shape of Bertrand Traore, whose Burkina Faso side qualified for the knockout stages in second place in Group D, meaning that he will be absent for a little while longer.
In Torres’s absence, error-prone Clement Lenglet will likely start against Newcastle United alongside Ezri Konsa at the heart of defence, flanked by marauding Alex Moreno and Matty Cash.
Boubacar Kamara is a vital cog on this Villa side. He could drop into the back three when Villa look to play in the Newcastle half. Douglas Luiz will look to set the tempo alongside Youri Tielemans and come up against his compatriot Bruno Guimaraes.
After seeing underwhelming displays from Moussa Diaby against Everton and Chelsea, Emery may have been tempted to introduce Jhon Duran alongside Ollie Watkins in West London. But the Colombian has also been ruled out for a number of weeks with an injury. Leon Bailey was left on the bench until the final minutes of Villa’s draw with Chelsea. He could start ahead of Diaby on Tuesday.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Martinez; Cash, Lenglet, Konsa, Moreno; Tielemans, Luiz, Kamara, McGinn; Bailey, Watkins
Newcastle United
Newcastle United face a quick turnaround as they visit Aston Villa in the Premier League on Tuesday night. But Eddie Howe could be boosted by a fair few injury returnees.
Jacob Murphy (shoulder) marked his return with a start against Fulham in the FA Cup. Harvey Barnes (foot) and Joe Willock (calf) are also drawing closer to being involved, but Sandro Tonali (suspended), Nick Pope (shoulder), Elliot Anderson (back), and Matt Targett (thigh) all remain out of contention, while Joelinton is out for the season after having thigh surgery recently.
As alluded to above, the Magpies were not at their best at Craven Cottage, but a strong backline meant they can head to Aston Villa in a confident mood. Skipper Kieran Trippier produced a stellar performance in that game and crucially shut down talk of a potential exit from St James’ Park this month post-match amid strong Bayern Munich interest.
The right-back also declared himself fit for Tuesday night’s Premier League clash after he was withdrawn in the latter stages of Newcastle’s 2-0 win at Fulham on Saturday.
On the opposite flank, Valentino Livramento could come in for Dan Burn to add further pace to the back-four, with goalkeeper Martin Dubravka improving with every game in between the sticks for the Magpies.
At the other end of the pitch, Alexander Isak should lead the line on Tuesday, with Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon capable of exploiting one-on-one situations out wide as well as delivering dangerous crosses to serve the forwards. It is unclear whether Miguel Almiron will be picked for the squad after being left out on Saturday due to transfer speculation.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Dubravka; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Livramento; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Miley; Murphy, Isak, Gordon
Key Stats
- Newcastle United are on a run of five successive away Premier League defeats and hold the division’s second-worst record on the road, having picked up just five points from their 10 games on the road.
- Newcastle have lost a whopping eight of their last 11 games.
- The Magpies’ last away victory against Aston Villa was in 2013.
- Aston Villa have not lost in any of their last 11 home matches.
Player to Watch
Alexander Isak
With doubts over the fitness of Callum Wilson, Alexander Isak looks like a certain starter for Newcastle. Isak has been in good form of late, scoring four in his last five appearances across the Premier League and FA Cup. Overall this season, the Swede has ten in 16 Premier League games and will be looking to add to his tally here.
Prediction
Aston Villa 1-2 Newcastle United
Despite the 14-point gap and their respective places in the Premier League standings, both sides are evenly matched on paper and are poised to deliver a thrilling contest.
While Newcastle will look to build on their impressive performances in the last three games and end their torrid run of results on the road, they face an Aston Villa side that boasts the best home record this season. The Hard Tackle back Eddie Howe’s men put a dent in Villa’s impressive home form and claim all three points in this one.
Dream on son, this is a win for Villa