Newcastle United welcome Aston Villa to St. James’ Park on Wednesday as the busy Premier League schedule continues.
The Magpies all but secured their place in England’s top flight for another season with a resounding 3-0 victory over Sheffield United in their first game since the restart.
The win against the Blades is only the second league game this season in which Newcastle have managed to score more than two goals.
Newcastle United up next...🎯 @ConorHourihane 🎯#AVFC pic.twitter.com/vEyaQ1FhHK— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) June 23, 2020
Newcastle United up next...🎯 @ConorHourihane 🎯#AVFC pic.twitter.com/vEyaQ1FhHK
Goals from Allan Saint-Maximin, Matt Ritchie, and Joelinton ensured that Newcastle moved onto 38 points – 11 points clear of the relegation zone.
In fact, Steve Bruce’s side are now just two points shy of Arsenal and the top half of the Premier League table.
Despite playing two games since the campaign got back underway, Aston Villa still find themselves in the bottom three.
A goalless draw with Sheff Utd in their first game back was followed by a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea last time out.
Villa took the lead at Stamford Bridge through Kortney Hause. However, a quickfire second-half double from the Blues condemned Dean Smith’s side to their 18th league defeat of the season.
Ultimately, Villa were completely outclassed in their previous games, recording just 26% possession and conceding 18 shots.
Smith’s men claimed a 2-0 victory over Newcastle in the reverse fixture earlier in the campaign, but that was their first win against the Toon since 2012.
Before Villa’s win in November, Newcastle were unbeaten in ten games in all competitions against the Villains (five wins, five draws).
If Newcastle’s recent home record is anything to go by, Bruce’s men could be on their way to another win in this fixture.
The Magpies are unbeaten in their last six league games at St. James’ Park and have only lost two of their previous 17 games on home soil in all competitions.
By contrast, Villa have only managed to win one of their previous 13 away games in all competitions.
Jetro Willems, Ciaran Clark, Jack Colback, Matty Longstaff, and Sean Longstaff all sat out of Newcastle’s first game back, so it’s unclear whether or not they will feature on Wednesday.
Villa will be without long-term absentees Tom Heaton and Wesley as the pair continue to recover from injury.
Newcastle look set to register three consecutive Premier League victories for the first time this season when a struggling Villa side come to town.
Forebet predicts that Newcastle will score over 1.5 goals on their way to victory, as well as keeping a clean sheet.