At A Glance
Aston Villa will be hoping their defensive resilience shines through once again as they try to complete a Premier League double over Newcastle at St James’ Park on Friday night.
The Villans have recorded a league high eight clean sheets on their travels this term, registering their 14th overall in a 0-0 draw with Wolves last time out.
Despite a run of one win in five games, Dean Smith’s men are ninth in the table heading into the fixture.
Fulham’s recent resurgence has left Newcastle looking over their shoulders, with the Magpies just a point above the relegation zone in 16th.
Steve Bruce’s team have won just two of their last 16 top-flight matches, but they have put back-to-back draws together against Wolves and West Bromwich Albion.
At St James’ Park this season, Newcastle have won four, drawn three and lost six of their 13 league games.
Standout Stats
Newcastle are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League home games against Aston Villa (W6 D5) since a 0-3 loss in April 2005 that saw the Magpies have three players sent off.
Aston Villa are looking to complete their first league double over Newcastle since the 2004-05 campaign.
Newcastle have kept just one clean sheet at home in the Premier League this season, fewer than any other side. Indeed, the Magpies have kept just one clean sheet in their last 17 league games at St James’ Park, with that coming against Liverpool in December.
Only Manchester City have kept more Premier League clean sheets than Aston Villa this season (14). Eight of those shutouts for the Villans have been away from home, more than any other side.
In their first 13 Premier League games this season, Aston Villa netted 27 goals (2.1 per game), scoring at least three goals in six of those games. In their last 13 in the competition, the Villans have netted just 11 times (0.8 per game) and never more than twice in a match.
In all competitions, Newcastle manager Steve Bruce has lost six of his last 11 matches against sides he’s formerly managed (W4 D1), as many as he had in his previous 39 such games. He’s never beaten Aston Villa since leaving the club in 2018 (D1 L3).
Ollie Watkins and Bertrand Traoré scored for Aston Villa in their 2-0 win against Newcastle in the reverse fixture. The last Aston Villa players to score home and away against the Magpies in the same season were Gareth Barry and Juan Pablo Ángel in 2004-05.
The Last Meeting
Aston Villa cantered to a routine win against Newcastle when the two sides met at Villa Park in January.
Ollie Watkins set the hosts on their way in the 13th minute before Bertrand Traore doubled the lead shortly before the break.
The defence was rarely tested as Emiliano Martinez registered his ninth clean sheet of the season.
Team News
Jack Grealish remains sidelined, with Dean Smith targeting the Tottenham game for his return.
Matty Cash and Anwar El Ghazi are both fit and return to the squad.
Newcastle are expected to be without Callum Wilson, Allan Saint-Maximin, Miguel Almiron and Fabian Schar.
Federico Fernandez and Javier Manquillo have returned to training ahead of the game.
The Boss
“I’m very respectful of what Steve Bruce has done in the game and what he continues to do. They finished in a very good position in the league last season and I’ve no doubt they’ll do so again. I’m not here to tell anybody what Steve Bruce can do. He’s a far more experienced manager than I am. Five or six teams are looking over their shoulders – Newcastle being one of them. There’s extra importance on each game they play now.”
Dean Smith
