Newcastle face Aston Villa at St James’ Park on Saturday as they look to tighten their grip on the top four.
The Magpies have been flying as of late, they’ve lost just one Premier League game so far this season and look good value for a Champions League spot.
However, if they are to get into the top four this season they need to be winning games such as this one, but, as ever in the Premier League, that is a task that is easier said than done.
Indeed, while Aston Villa have been poor at points this season, they themselves are entering a brand new era and after a 4-0 win against Brentford last weekend, they’re riding the crest of a wave themselves.
With that in mind, we’ve had a go at predicting Eddie Howe’s starting XI for this one.
We don’t think that Newcastle will be rushing to make any changes from the team that beat Tottenham last weekend.
United got a great result against Spurs a week ago, and we think Howe will trust the same team to go out and do the business against Villa.
Nick Pope starts in goal, while Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn are utilised as the full-backs.
Meanwhile, in the centre of defence, Fabian Schar and Sven Botman continue what is growing to be a fantastic partnership at the heart of the back four.
Bruno Guimaraes starts as the star man in the middle of the park, and he’s flanked by both Joe Willock and Sean Longstaff.
Another experiment with Joelinton continues here as the Brazilian is, once again, utilised on the left wing after an impressive spell against Spurs, while he’s joined in the attack by Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron.
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