England Premier League
Friday 12th March 2021
Kick off at 8pm GMT
Venue: St. James' Park
Match Preview:
This Friday night game will pit Newcastle against Aston Villa and the home side need the win as a relegation battle is looming. However Aston Villa need a victory to help their dreams of playing in Europe next season, so we should see an entertaining game.
Newcastle come into this encounter in 16th place but have just 27 points and that is only a 1 point advantage over Fulham who are in 18th place. The Magpies recent form has been disappointing with just 1 win in their last five games and that came back at the beginning of February with a 3-2 victory at home to Southampton. That of course is the key word here ‘home’, and Newcastle will be hoping that they can produce something on their home turf however after losing six of their 13 games here so far that is easier said than done. The Magpies have at least gone their last 2 games at St James’ Park without defeat after a victory over Southampton and a draw against Wolves but for sure this will be a nervous and tense game for the club.
Aston Villa in 9th place have 13 points more than Newcastle and could go 5 points clear of Arsenal, and still have a game in hand with victory here. Dean Smith’s side could go past Liverpool and with their games in hand over 4th placed Chelsea it would be possible in theory to only be four points behind Thomas Tuchel’s team in a manner of a few weeks time. However Villa need to put wins together and that is something they have found hard to do of late.
Villa have won just once in their last five games and last weekend they drew 0-0 at home to Wolves. Away form is mixed having earned 7 points from their last 15 and overall the club have won 50% of their games on the road. That isn’t a terrible record but they do lose against Sheffield United by 1-0 in their last away match.
Team News:
Newcastle: Miguel Almiron is out for at least 3 weeks with his knee injury. Callum Wilson could be back earlier than expected and possibly by next week following his hamstring injury. Allan Saint-Maximin is ruled out for another 3 weeks with his groin injury.
Aston Villa: Matthew Cash is expected to miss this game with his recent lay off but is back in training. Anwar El Ghazi should be back after his infected toe injury. Jack Grealish could miss this game with fitness issues following a leg injury but he will be assessed. Wesley is edging near to a return but has some fitness issues and could miss out.
Newcastle vs Aston Villa Head to Head:
Last season this fixture ended 1-1.
Earlier in the season in the reverse fixture Aston Villa won 2-0.
Aston Villa have not won at Newcastle since 2005.
Newcastle vs Aston Villa Prediction:
Newcastle have a side that can finish mid-table and Steve Bruce will need some of his players to stand up and be counted. Where are the goals from Joelinton? Where is the distribution from Jonjo Shelvey? Those are just two players who have underperformed this season in a team that has really underwhelmed. There is a chance that from a reasonably safe position a couple of months ago Newcastle could go down or at least be involved in a relegation battle.
This will be a more tense game for the home side who need to produce. This isn’t a make or break match for Villa, but a loss would obviously dent their European hopes but the club are going to be dangerous here. Villa though do not have a good recent record at Newcastle and we expect quite a close game. At a risk we will back the home side to get at least a point mainly because Villa have failed to show any real consistency in the second half of the season and we will also back for there to be more goals as the game goes on.
Newcastle vs Aston Villa Betting Tips:
Asian handicap (+0.5 Newcastle) at 1.88
Highest Scoring Half: 2nd half at 2.10
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