Newcastle United will play hosts to Aston Villa at St. James’ Park on Wednesday evening hoping to pick up another victory at their backyard. The Magpies will come into this game on the back of a comfortable 3-0 win over Sheffield United last weekend. In contrast, the Villans suffered a disappointing 2-1 loss versus Chelsea on Sunday, so they will be desperate to earn maximum points while on their travels.
Talking Tactics
Newcastle boss Steve Bruce will opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation and might be inclined to name an unchanged side for this clash in midweek. The Magpies will hope to see more of the ball against Villa but could find it difficult to break down the opposition defence. Matt Ritchie will carry most of the creative workload while Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin look to use their pace to get behind the Villans’ defence.
Dean Smith will set his side up in a 4-3-3 formation while instructing his players to trouble the opposition on the break. Most of Villa’s attacks will go through Jack Grealish while Keinan Davis focusses on being a decent target man up top.
Team News
Newcastle United
Sean Longstaff and Matt Longstaff will be in a race against time to be fit for this encounter. Bruce is expected to keep changes to a minimum for this midweek showdown in the Premier League.
Newcastle United Predicted XI
Dubravka, Manquillo, Fernandez, Lascelles, Rose, Shelvey, Hayden, Saint-Maximin, Almiron, Ritchie, Joelinton
Aston Villa
Both Danny Drinkwater and Frédéric Guilbert are significant doubts for this contest at Tyneside. Otherwise, Dean Smith has no fresh injury concerns to cope with in midweek.
Aston Villa Predicted XI
Nyland, Konsa, Hause, Mings, Targett, McGinn, Nakamba, Douglas, El Ghazi, Grealish, Davis
Key Men
Newcastle United
Allan Saint-Maximin produced some moments of brilliance in his last outing, so we can expect him to be a potent goal-threat down the left flank. Joetinton will also be heading into this contest full of confidence following his goal-scoring display versus the Blades last weekend.
Aston Villa
Jack Grealish will have to come up with something special if the Villans are to have any chance of securing a win on Wednesday. Mings will also have to deliver a big performance defensively so that the visitors can keep the Magpies at bay in midweek.
Odds
The bookmakers have made Newcastle United the favourites to emerge victorious at St. James’ Park after they were priced at 5/4. The draw has been listed as 12/5 while the West Midlands outfit are 11/5 underdogs to pull off an upset against Steve Bruce’s men.
