Newcastle United will be looking for their third consecutive win when they welcome struggling Aston Villa to St James’ Park on Saturday.
If a week is a long time in football, two weeks is an eternity. A fortnight ago, Newcastle were in a horrible run of form, firmly inside the bottom three, with challenging fixtures against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur on the horizon. Fast forward two weeks and six points later, there seems to be new life in the Magpies’ season courtesy of those surprise wins which have lifted Steve McClaren’s side up to 15th.
While the Geordies have improved, the same cannot be said about their opponents. Aston Villa have not won since the opening day and sit bottom of the table on six points, eight points away from safety. With the halfway point of the campaign fast approaching, their ever-present record in the Premier League is seriously under threat.
Key Battle – Georginio Wijnaldum vs Micah Richards
When Wijnaldum produces a man of the match performance, the Geordies tend to win. Playing against a side bottom of the league, the Dutchman will see this as a chance to show off his talent and help his side to another win.
Standing in his way will be Villa captain and central-defender Micah Richards. The 27-year-old, who was a Summer transfer target for Newcastle, has been the only shining light in a disastrous campaign for the Villans, and he will be eager to keep the Villa defence strong on his return from injury.
Team News
Tim Krul, Gabriel Obertan, Massadio Haidara, Rolando Aarons and Steven Taylor remain sidelined, while Cheick Tiote is in doubt as he is still recovering from a groin injury. Aleksandr Mitrovic and Ayoze Perez are possible starters after scoring off the bench against Tottenham.
Villa skipper Richards is expected to return after missing the past two matches through a knee injury. The only other injuries Remi Garde must contend with is Jordan Amavi (ACL) and Gary Gardner (Ankle). Carles Gil will be looking to start after showing glimpses in the defeat to Arsenal.
Head-to-Head
These two sides have met on 159 occasions, with Newcastle holding the advantage with 70 wins to Aston Villa’s 55. Thirty-four matches have been drawn. The Villans have not beaten the Magpies since April 2011, and not at St James’ Park since April 2005.
Previous Meeting
The most recent meeting between these two sides came in February this year when a Papiss Cisse strike shortly before half time was the only goal as Newcastle won a somewhat dull match at St James’ Park. It was one of only three wins John Carver had in his half-season tenure as Magpies boss.
Prediction
A few weeks ago, this looked like a tough match to predict, but two wins for Newcastle seem to have lifted spirits a great deal and they will see this as an opportunity to make a statement to underline their recent improvement. The Geordies’ rejuvenation means this match could not have come at a worse time from Villa’s point of view, who, even at this stage of the season, look to be gone as far as survival goes. It is hard to see anything other than a Newcastle win this Saturday.
Newcastle United 2 Aston Villa 0
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