Aston Villa v Newcastle preview
An all-Premier League FA Cup fourth-round tie takes place at Villa Park on Saturday evening as Aston Villa host Newcastle.
The visitors travel to the Midlands looking to respond after a 2-0 league defeat to Villa at St James’ Park just three weeks ago.
Villa come into the contest on the back of a midweek victory, edging past Brighton 1-0 thanks to a late Jack Hinshelwood own goal.
That result followed dropped points against Brentford and Bournemouth but kept Unai Emery’s side firmly in the race for Champions League qualification, with the club currently sitting third in the table.
Villa have eliminated Newcastle from the competition on four occasions and head into this tie unbeaten in their last three meetings with the Magpies in all competitions, recording two wins and a draw while conceding just once.
Newcastle, however, arrive encouraged by a valuable 2-1 victory away to Tottenham in midweek, their third away league win of the season. The result came shortly after a difficult spell that had seen them win only once in eight matches across all competitions.
Eddie Howe’s side currently sit 10th in the Premier League and face a demanding run of fixtures in the coming weeks, including matches against Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea, as well as a Champions League knockout playoff tie against Qarabag.
Before that, their attention turns to the FA Cup, where they required penalties to overcome Bournemouth in the third round after a 3-3 draw. Newcastle are aiming to reach the fifth round for the third consecutive season.
Aston Villa v Newcastle team news
Aston Villa remain without Youri Tielemans, John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara and Andres Garcia due to injury. January signing Alysson has recovered from a knee issue and could be included in the squad.
Matty Cash is also unavailable with a knee problem, meaning Lamare Bogarde is expected to continue at right-back, while Pau Torres and Lucas Digne are set to feature in defence.
Morgan Rogers, who has four goal involvements in five FA Cup starts for Villa, is likely to operate behind the striker, with Ollie Watkins and Tammy Abraham both options to lead the line.
Newcastle are missing Joelinton, Tino Livramento, Fabian Schar and Emil Krafth through injury. Bruno Guimaraes and Lewis Miley are fitness doubts ahead of the trip to Villa Park.
Jacob Ramsey scored the winner against Tottenham and is expected to keep his place in midfield alongside Sandro Tonali and Joe Willock.
Up front, Eddie Howe could deploy a recognised centre-forward in either Nick Woltemade or Yoane Wissa, which would likely see one of Anthony Gordon, Harvey Barnes or Anthony Elanga drop out of the starting XI.
Aston Villa v Newcastle predicted line-ups
Aston Villa:
Bizot; Bogarde, Lindelof, Torres, Digne; Onana, Luiz; Bailey, Rogers, Buendia; Abraham
Newcastle United:
Pope; Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Hall; Willock, Tonali, Ramsey; Barnes, Woltemade, Gordon
How to watch Villa v Newcastle: TV channel, live online stream
Kick-off on Saturday is at 17:45 GMT (12:45 ET / 09:45 PT). Live TV coverage in the UK is on BBC One and TNT Sports 3.
Live streaming on a vast range of devices is available through the BBC iPlayer app, BBC Sport website and Discovery Plus app.
TNT Sports costs £29.99 a month through Discovery Plus, which includes Eurosport and entertainment and is available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.
Aston Villa v Newcastle stats
- Aston Villa have knocked Newcastle United out of the FA Cup four times
- Villa are unbeaten in their last three meetings with Newcastle (W2 D1)
- Newcastle needed penalties to beat Bournemouth in the third round
- The Magpies have lost 10 of their last 13 FA Cup away ties against Premier League opponents
- Aston Villa have won seven FA Cup trophies in their history
