Aston Villa will play hosts to Newcastle United at Villa Park on Monday night as both teams try to get the better of each other in an attempt to climb up the league table. The home side are in a wretched run of form while the Tyneside outfit are currently flying high after securing back-to-back wins in the Premier League.
Talking Tactics
The Villans are expected to set-up in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Wesley Moraes expected to lead the charge upfront. Dean Smith needs to take an aggressive approach to this game as his team are in dire need of a win following a run of three consecutive losses in the English top-flight. Hence, it is likely that the West Midlands outfit will try to dominate the ball and dictate the pace of the game.
In contrast, the Magpies could opt to take a more cautious approach as they look to grind out a positive result on the road. Steve Bruce will go in with a 5-4-1 formation and might ask his players to defend deep and be a threat on the counter.
Team News
Aston Villa
Jed Steer will be sidelined for a couple of months due to a calf injury. Tom Heaton is a significant doubt for this game, and so Orjan Nyland could come in and make his debut in the Premier League on Monday night. Both Jota and Keinan Davis are also unavailable due to injury.
Smith will be worried about the fitness of Jack Grealish, Bjorn Engels and Matt Targett but they should recover in time to feature in this clash at the West Midlands.
Aston Villa Predicted XI
Nyland; Guilbert, Engels, Mings, Targett; Nakamba; El Ghazi, McGinn, Grealish, Trezeguet; Wesley
Newcastle United
Jamaal Lascelles will be out of commission until the turn of the year due to a knee injury. Sean Longstaff is suspended and will also miss out on this contest. Bruce will be sweating on the fitness of Fabian Schar, Florian Lejeune and Matt Ritchie as they are all doubtful for the trip to Villa Park.
Newcastle United Predicted XI
Dubravaka; Yedlin, Fernandez, Clark, Schar, Willems; Almiron, Shelvey, Hayden, Saint-Maximin; Joelinton.
Key Men
Aston Villa
Both John McGinn and Jack Grealish will be central towards Villa’s success in this game. They would be expected to dictate play from midfield and create some decent openings in the final third. Wesley will also be hungry for goals while up against a stubborn Newcastle defence.
Newcastle United
Martin Dúbravka has to pull off a few stops if his team are to stand a chance of claiming maximum points versus the Villans. Both Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin will also have to run the channels to create some inviting opportunities for Joelinton up top.
Odds
The bookmakers have made Aston Villa a slight favourite to secure a win versus Steve Bruce’ men on Monday after they were priced at 9/8. The draw is listed as 13/5 while the Magpies are 3/1 underdogs to win this league encounter at Villa Park.
