Aston Villa will be aiming to move back into the top half of the Premier League table when Newcastle United visit Villa Park on Saturday.
Villa dropped to eleventh following a defeat to Manchester City last time out, while Newcastle are down in fifteenth place – seven points behind Dean Smith’s side.
𝟲𝟴': @DG_DouglasLuiz ⚽ 𝟵𝟱': @EzriKonsa x @OfficialTM_3 👀#OnThisDay in 2020, late drama at Villa Park! 😍 pic.twitter.com/lRnM6lluuZ— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 21, 2021
𝟲𝟴': @DG_DouglasLuiz ⚽ 𝟵𝟱': @EzriKonsa x @OfficialTM_3 👀#OnThisDay in 2020, late drama at Villa Park! 😍 pic.twitter.com/lRnM6lluuZ
It is also worth mentioning that Villa have two games in hand over the Magpies, who are only seven points clear of the relegation zone.
It’s fair to say that Smith’s men gave a good account of themselves on Wednesday, having not played a Premier League game since New Year’s Day.
The Villains managed to fend off Man City for 79 minutes, with late goals from Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan sealing a 2-0 win for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Still, Villa can move to within four points of fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur with a win on Saturday, having only lost six of their 16 league matches this term.
Smith’s men also boast the third-best defensive record in the division, conceding just 18 goals so far this season.
At the other end of the spectrum, Newcastle have one of the poorest scoring records in the Premier League.
The Magpies have only managed to net 18 goals in 18 games, while only the bottom four teams have scored fewer goals.
Steve Bruce’s side head into Saturday’s clash on a nine-game winless run in all competitions, with four straight defeats coming in recent weeks.
Worse still, Newcastle have failed to hit the back of the net in six of their previous seven outings, scoring just once during that period.
If the Magpies don’t sort themselves out pretty quickly, they could easily find themselves involved in the relegation battle.
Head-to-head: Aston Villa and Newcastle produced a 1-1 draw in their previous meeting, meaning Villa have only managed to win one of their last 14 games against Newcastle in all competitions.
However, with five draws coming in their last eight meetings, we are likely to see a tight match on Saturday.
Team news: John McGinn will miss Saturday’s game through suspension, while Kortney Hause is likely to be sidelined for Villa.
Newcastle will welcome back Ryan Fraser from suspension, although Federico Fernandez and Allan Saint-Maximin are expected to miss out due to injury.
Aston Villa have suffered a couple of unlucky defeats recently, but they should be able to bounce back with a win against Newcastle.
Forebet predicts that Aston Villa will keep a clean sheet on their way to beating Newcastle on Saturday.