Aston Villa vs Newcastle – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Villa have won 17 of their last 22 matches. The Magpies have lost eight of their last 14 away matches.

Aston Villa Form

Villa sit third in the EPL table, just seven points off Arsenal. They have won 17 of their last 22 matches in all competitions. A 2-1 win away at Tottenham in the league was followed by a surprise 1-0 home loss to Everton. They beat Fenerbahce 1-0 away and went to Newcastle and won 2-0 at St. James’ Park.

They came from 2-0 down to beat Salzburg 3-2 at home in the Europa League. A 1-0 home loss to Brentford saw Villa outshot the Bees 27-6. A 1-1 draw at Bournemouth was a fortunate result as they were outshot 20-7 and allowed 2.06 xG. In midweek, a late own goal sealed a 1-0 home win over Brighton.

Aston Villa Team News

Unai Emery has five players ruled out through injury. Matty Cash and Andres Garcia are absent at right back. John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara are all injured in midfield.

Lamare Bogarde will cover at right back. Douglas Luiz is set to continue in midfield after his arrival on loan from Juventus. Jadon Sancho and Emi Buendia may be handed starts once again.

Aston Villa Motivation

Confidence is high in the Villa camp. They want to progress in the FA Cup.

Whilst Aston Villa will play on the front foot, they won’t open up too much. A big focus will be on set-pieces, as usual.

Newcastle Form

Newcastle picked up a much-needed win in their last match. Before that, it was just one win in nine matches in all competitions. A poor 0-0 draw at Wolves was followed by a 3-0 home win over PSV, before losing 2-0 at home to Aston Villa.

An impressive 1-1 draw in Paris vs PSG, was followed by three straight losses. They were thrashed 4-1 at Liverpool and lost 3-1 at Man City in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg. They lost 3-2 at home to Brentford but bounced back to win 2-1 at Tottenham last weekend. They had 21 shots and 2.48 xG in that win.

Newcastle Team News

Fabian Schar, Tino Livramento and Emil Krafth are ruled out in defence. Dan Burn may continue at left back in preference to Lewis Hall.

Joelinton and Lewis Miley are injured in midfield. Bruno Guimaraes came off in the win at Tottenham with a hamstring complaint and is doubtful. Sandro Tonali is set to be recalled in the engine room.

Newcastle Motivation

Newcastle got a key win on the road last time out. However, they’re usually poor travellers and won’t have much confidence of winning at Villa Park.

Eddie Howe played an attacking style in the fan at Tottenham. For this one, a more circumspect approach is expected.

Key Stats

• Aston Villa have won 17 of their last 22 matches
• Aston Villa have won 5 of their last 7 home matches vs Newcastle (5 clean sheets)
• Newcastle have lost 8 of their last 14 away matches (25 goals conceded)
• Newcastle have lost 3 of their last 4 matches

Verdict

Villa should have too much for Newcastle on Saturday. A win to zero looks like a good bet, considering the Magpies’ troubles in scoring at Villa Park.

Best Bet: Aston Villa win at 2.18

Value Bet: Aston Villa win to zero at 4.50