After suffering a 5-0 drubbing in their last match at the Etihad, Newcastle United host relegation threatened Aston Villa who can’t seem to buy even a point at the moment, leave alone a win. Tim Sherwood’s appointment didn’t provide an immediate impact as despite taking the lead against Stoke City, they contrived to lose the match in stoppage time.
Despite the defeat, the Villains looked bright for most of the game and will have reason to believe that they can get something out of the trip St James’ Park with the home side not having too much to play for as they are set to finish in mid-table.
Team News
Newcastle United:
Tenacious midfielder Jack Colback is suspended for two games after picking up his 10th booking of the season against Manchester City
Cheick Tiote, Paul Dummett, Steven Taylor, Rob Elliot, and Siem De Jong are all injured while Remy Cabella Rolando Aarons are all doubts.
Jonas Gutierrez has declared that himself available for selection after recovering from cancer and stating that he has been training with the first team, though it is unlikely that he will be start for a few weeks.
Aston Villa:
Kieran Richardson had to be substituted after picking up an injury in the last game and Aly Cissokho who came on to replace him might be handed a start against Newcastle United.
Both Nathan Baker and Phillipe Senderos are doubts while Ron Vlaar is suspended after his sending off against Stoke which means that Jores Okore will start alongside Ciaran Clark in the defence.
Last Five Meetings
23 Aug 2014   Aston Villa       0 – 0   Newcastle United   Premier League
23 Feb 2014   Newcastle United 1 – 0   Aston Villa         Premier League
14 Sep 2013   Aston Villa        1 – 2   Newcastle United   Premier League
29 Jan 2013  Aston Villa        1 – 2   Newcastle United   Premier League
02 Sep 2012 Newcastle United   1 – 1   Aston Villa         Premier League
Probable Line-Ups
Newcastle United: 4-2-3-1: Krul; Janmaat, Williamson, Coloccini, Haidara; Abeid, Sissoko; Gouffran, Perez, Ameobi; Cisse
Aston Villa: 4-3-3: Given; Hutton, Vlaar, Clark, Cissokho; Gil, Sanchez, Delph, Sinclair; Benteke, Agbonlahor
Interesting Facts
- Newcastle United have won just twice in their last 13 matches in all competitions.
- Since their win over Chelsea back in December, Newcastle have won just once in their last five league home games.
- Newcastle have won more times against Villa than any other opponent in the Premier League since 1993.
- Newcastle have won five and drawn three of their last 8 home matches against Aston Villa in the Premier League.
- Aston Villa have failed to score in 9 of their last 11 away games in the Premier League.
- Aston Villa have lost 6Â Premier League matches in a row.
- Aston Villa have conceded at least 2 goals in their last 5 Premier League matches.
- Aston Villa have scored are the lowest scorers in the Premier League so far this season with just 13 goals
Key Men
Newcastle: Papiss Cisse
Three years ago, Cisse made his Newcastle debut against Aston Villa in February 2012 and scored a stunning winner. The highs of that season have been long forgotten though as his side trudges towards mid table mediocrity though Cisse is the leading scorer with 10 league goals.
Despite being inconsistent, Cisse does manage to score typical poacher’s goals and has a decent shot accuracy of 62% to go with his 80% pass accuracy. He will be the home side’s best bet to find the net against a poor Villa defence who have not kept a clean sheet since early January.
Aston Villa: Scott Sinclair
Having signed from champions Manchester City on a season long loan with a view to a permanent transfer, Sinclair has made four substitute appearances along with two starts but more importantly, scored two goals for his new club! Villa have found life tough in recent weeks and after his goal against Stoke last week, Sinclair is set to start on Saturday as he looks to revive his career having played just 25 minutes during his time with City in the first half of the season. He could become an integral cog in Tim Sherwood’s system as the Villain’s are set to battle it out for survival during the remaining few months of the season.
Prediction
Newcastle have a good recent record against Aston Villa and they should win by the odd goal on which you can bet here at William Hill.
