England Premier League
Wednesday 24th June 2020
Kick off at 6pm BST
Venue: St. James' Park
Match Preview:
Newcastle will be delighted to be remaining at home in midweek as they face off against Aston Villa.
The Magpies were magnificent in beating a tough opponent in Sheffield United 3-0 at the weekend, with many fearing that Steve Bruce’s side could struggle. It is evident that off the pitch matters involving a possible club takeover have not affected the set up and a lot of credit has to go to Bruce.
The Brazilian Joelinton finally scored a goal in Newcastle’s first game back. It was his 1st goal since last August and everyone at the club will be hoping that the player can kick on from this. As for his club Newcastle look safe now on 38 points and have moved 11 points clear of the relegation zone. A win here would pretty much confirm their survival.
Aston Villa have played 2 games since the restart. The first was a 0-0 home draw against Sheffield United and the second was a 2-1 loss at home against Chelsea. The Chelsea defeat would have hurt given that on the hour Villa were leading the game. In truth Villa were poor and had to spend the game chasing the ball as Chelsea dominated.
This latest loss which is Villa’s 18th of the season sees them in 19th place with 26 points but they are just 1 point from escaping the bottom three. However the way they have been playing suggests the rest of the season could be an uphill struggle for Dean Smith’s side.
Team News:
Newcastle: Matthew Longstaff (muscle) and Sean Longstaff (knock) will be assessed ahead of the game as they are in recovery
Aston Villa: Frederic Guilbert has a knee injury but could be assessed ahead of the game possibly missing out though. Daniel Drinkwater is hoping to return after a knock.
Newcastle vs Aston Villa Head to Head:
Earlier in the season in the reverse fixture Aston Villa won 2-0.
Aston Villa have no wins at St James’ Park since 2005.
The last time the clubs played here was in 2017 when Newcastle won 2-0.
The last 8 meetings have all seen under 2.5 goals.
Newcastle vs Aston Villa Prediction:
The feeling before Newcastle played their first game after the restart was that the club were in limbo giving the takeover and the fact that if it happens Steve Bruce may no longer be manager. But a lot of work has evidently been done in training and Bruce has his players believing. This is credit to him and his work attitude.
It is Aston Villa who look lost at sea, and when we think that they could have lost to Sheffield United last week and that Newcastle swept the same side away a few days after we have to back the Magpies for the win, but will cover the draw for extra security. It would also make sense to back Joelinton to score again. Time and again we have witnessed strikers going on a lull and all they really needed was one goal to set them off again. Perhaps this won’t be the case with Joelinton but at the end of the day we have to respect him and give him that chance. A lot of motivation is with the home side who would climb into the 40 point marker with a win and feel that their safety is guaranteed.
Newcastle vs Aston Villa Betting Tips:
Asian handicap (0.0 Newcastle) at 1.65
Anytime goalscorer: Joelinton at 3.50
Goal line (Over 2) at 1.575
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