Newcastle vs Aston Villa preview, team news, stats, prediction, kick-off time

Javier Manquillo is expected to be fit for Newcastle but Jack Grealish remains out for Aston Villa; follow Newcastle vs Aston Villa on Sky Sports; watch free highlights shortly after full-time on Sky Sports website and app

Thursday 11 March 2021 18:43, UK

Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Newcastle vs Aston Villa in the Premier League on Friday (kick-off 8pm).

Team news

Newcastle full-back Javier Manquillo could return to the squad for Friday night’s crucial Premier League clash with Aston Villa.

The Spaniard has missed the last four games with an ankle injury, but like fellow defender Federico Fernandez, who was an unused substitute for Sunday’s 0-0 draw at West Brom after shaking off a thigh problem, is back in training.

Front three Callum Wilson (hamstring), Allan Saint-Maximin (groin) and Miguel Almiron (knee) are all making progress, but still unavailable, as is defender Fabian Schar (also knee).

There is bittersweet news for Aston Villa regarding the fitness of captain Jack Grealish.

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The 25-year-old attacker has recovered from the lower leg injury that has seen him sidelined recently, but Villa’s talisman will miss a fifth Premier League match after he was struck down with illness this week.

However, Anwar El Ghazi will be fit to travel after missing the goalless draw with Wolves with a bruised toe while Matty Cash will also be back in contention after missing the last four games with a hamstring injury.

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How to follow

Follow Newcastle vs Aston Villa in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

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Jones Knows prediction

Newcastle are now just Evens to be relegated – that’s a 50/50 chance. I doubt the Toon fans are surprised at this development. They have won two of their last 16 Premier League games (losing 10), taking just 10 points from 48 available.

Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better with their three main attacking players still ruled out through injury. It’s very difficult to see how Newcastle are going to score the goals to pick up points with Callum Wilson, Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron missing.

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Steve Bruce sent his team out with a needs-must performance at West Brom to secure a comfortable 0-0 draw but the toothless nature of their attacks, which equated to just a 0.47 expected goal figure, was a worrying sight. They now face a team with far greater defensive credentials. Villa have statistically the third-best defence in the league, conceding just 27 goals and keeping 14 clean sheets – that’s twice as many as last season.

A Villa win to nil at 9/4 certainly makes appeal. Villa’s last win at Newcastle was 3-0 in April 2005 – a game in which Newcastle had three players sent-off, including the infamous fight between Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer.

JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 0-2

BETTING ANGLE: Aston Villa to win to nil (9/4 with Sky Bet)

Last time out…

Opta stats

  • Newcastle are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League home games against Aston Villa (W6 D5) since a 0-3 loss in April 2005 that saw the Magpies have three players sent off.
  • Aston Villa are looking to complete their first league double over Newcastle since the 2004-05 campaign.
  • This is Newcastle’s 14th Premier League game to be played on a Friday (W4 D2 L7), but only the second at St James’ Park, following a 6-2 victory against Everton in March 2002.
  • Aston Villa have lost four of their last five Premier League games played on Friday (W1), including both such fixtures this season (0-3 vs Leeds, 1-2 vs Man Utd).
  • Newcastle have kept just one clean sheet at home in the Premier League this season, fewer than any other side. Indeed, the Magpies have kept just one clean sheet in their last 17 league games at St James’ Park, with that coming against Liverpool in December.
  • Only Manchester City have kept more Premier League clean sheets than Aston Villa this season (14). Eight of those shutouts for the Villans have been away from home, more than any other side.
  • In their first 13 Premier League games this season, Aston Villa netted 27 goals (2.1 per game), scoring at least three goals in six of those games. In their last 13 in the competition, the Villans have netted just 11 times (0.8 per game) and never more than twice in a match.
  • In all competitions, Newcastle manager Steve Bruce has lost six of his last 11 matches against sides he’s formerly managed (W4 D1), as many as he had in his previous 39 such games. He’s never beaten Aston Villa since leaving the club in 2018 (D1 L3).
  • Ollie Watkins and Bertrand Traoré scored for Aston Villa in their 2-0 win against Newcastle in the reverse fixture. The last Aston Villa players to score home and away against the Magpies in the same season were Gareth Barry and Juan Pablo Ángel in 2004-05.
  • Since returning to the Premier League last season, Aston Villa have won just 17% of their league games when Jack Grealish has been absent (1/6), compared to 35% when he plays (20/58). The Villans average just 0.7 goals-per-game without him (1.3 with) and 10.5 shots-per-game when he doesn’t play (13 with).

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