match preview

Aston Villa v Newcastle United

theguardian 

For Aston Villa this fixture represents an opportunity to win the opening two matches of a season for the first time since 1999. Buoyed by last Saturdays 1-0 win at Stoke, Villa are also boosted by the availability of Carlos Sánchez and Joe Cole, both of whom could make debuts. Newcastle, however, are unbeaten in six games against Villa and did the double over them last season. Siem de Jong is set to make his first appearance and Facundo Ferreyra, on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk, could also feature. Stuart James

Kick-off Saturday12.45pm Venue Villa Park

Last season Aston Villa 1 Newcastle 2

Live BT Sport 1

Referee Mike Dean

This season G1, Y6, R0, 2.0 cards per game

Odds H 13-8 A 2-1 D 23-10

Aston Villa v Newcastle United
Aston Villa v Newcastle United: probable starters in bold, contenders in light.
Aston Villa



Subs from Given, Grealish, Bacuna, Sánchez, Cole, Baker, Clark, El Ahmadi, Bent, Steer, Okore, Herd, Gardner, Lowton, Stevens

Doubtful None

Injured Benteke (achilles, Oct), Kozak (broken leg, unknown)

Suspended None

Form W

Discipline Y3 R0

Leading scorer Weimann 1

Newcastle United

Subs from Elliot, S Taylor, Haïdara, Anita, Abeid, Obertan, Aarons, Ferreyra, Pérez, Gutiérrez, Ameobi

Doubtful None

Injured Tioté (hamstring, 30 Aug), Cissé (knee, 29 Sep), Santon (knee, Nov), R Taylor (knee, unknown), Yanga-Mbiwa (knock, unknown)

Form L

Discipline Y1 R0

Leading scorer n/a