Aston Villa vs Newcastle – News and Probable Lineups

An all-Premier League matchup in the fourth round of the FA Cup will take place at Villa Park on Saturday evening, featuring Aston Villa against Newcastle United.

The Magpies will look to avenge a recent 2-0 defeat to Villa at St James’ Park just three weeks prior.

Match overview

After losing crucial points in consecutive Premier League matches against Brentford (1-0 defeat) and Bournemouth (1-1 draw), Aston Villa managed to secure a victory on Wednesday night, narrowly triumphing over Brighton & Hove Albion with a 1-0 scoreline, thanks to an own goal by Jack Hinshelwood in the 86th minute.

Currently in third place, Unai Emery’s team has taken advantage of dropped points by both Manchester United in fourth and Chelsea in fifth, boosting their chances of securing Champions League qualification for next season. Their aspirations for FA Cup triumph remain intact as they seek to add to their seven titles.

Aston Villa advanced past Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup third round last month with a 2-1 victory in North London, having also eliminated them in the competition’s fourth round the previous season. Nevertheless, they have not progressed beyond this stage in consecutive seasons since their runs from 2008-09 to 2010-11.

In five of the last six FA Cup seasons, either Villa (1895, 1897, 1905, 1924) or Newcastle (1905, 1924, 1952) have reached the final, with two of those seasons featuring both teams in the final match (1904-05 and 1923-24).

Villa has eliminated Newcastle from the FA Cup on four occasions (1894-95, 1896-97, 1904-05, 2000-01), with the remaining two ties resulting in losses during the 1923-24 final and in the third round of 1951-52. They remain unbeaten in their last three meetings against the Magpies (W2 D1) in all competitions, scoring six times and conceding just once.

Just three days after being booed off by their fans at St James’ Park following a painful 3-2 defeat to Brentford, Newcastle bounced back to claim three essential points with a 2-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday – marking their third away win in 13 Premier League matches this season.

It was a tough evening for Thomas Frank, who has since been dismissed from his role at Tottenham, but Newcastle’s head coach Eddie Howe will savor this victory, especially as his side had previously managed just one win in eight across all competitions (D2 L5), conceding 15 goals during that stretch.

Currently sitting in 10th place in the Premier League, Newcastle faces a tough schedule ahead, with matches against Manchester City, Everton, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Sunderland in their next five league fixtures, along with a Champions League knockout round playoff against Qarabag, which entails a 5,000-mile round trip to Azerbaijan.

However, the Magpies will need to concentrate on the FA Cup first, aiming to advance past the fourth round for the third consecutive season as they prepare to face Villa. Howe’s team needed penalties to get through Bournemouth in the third round last month following a thrilling 3-3 draw in the Northeast.

Heading into Saturday’s match, Newcastle has won six of their last 11 FA Cup away fixtures (D2 L3), having previously gone 15 without an away win. Nevertheless, the Magpies have lost 10 of their last 13 away matches against Premier League teams (W2 D1) and have failed to score in eight of their last nine such games.

Team News

Aston Villa’s Youri Tielemans (ankle), John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara (both knee), and Andres Garcia (thigh) will all be unavailable due to injuries, while January signing Alysson has overcome a knee issue and is expected to be included in the matchday squad.

Matty Cash missed the recent victory over Brighton with a knee problem and will also be absent against Newcastle, leading to Lamare Bogarde likely continuing at right-back, with Victor Lindelof, Pau Torres, and Lucas Digne potentially joining him in a four-man defence.

Morgan Rogers has been directly involved in four goals in five FA Cup starts for Aston Villa (three goals, one assist), scoring in their third-round victory over Tottenham last month, and is anticipated to maintain an advanced role behind either Ollie Watkins or Tammy Abraham in attack.

For Newcastle, Joelinton (groin), Tino Livramento (thigh), Fabian Schar (ankle), and Emil Krafth (knee) will all miss out due to injuries, while Howe is concerned about the fitness of Bruno Guimaraes (hamstring) and Lewis Miley (thigh), who are both doubts for the trip to Villa Park.

Jacob Ramsey, a former Villa midfielder, scored the winning goal against Tottenham in midweek and is expected to keep his starting position in midfield alongside Sandro Tonali and Joe Willock.

If Howe decides to employ a natural centre-forward – either Nick Woltemade or Yoane Wissa – one of Anthony Gordon, Harvey Barnes, or Anthony Elanga will likely make way, probably the latter.

Aston Villa probable starting XI:

Bizot; Bogarde, Lindelof, Torres, Digne; Onana, Luiz; Bailey, Rogers, Buendia; Abraham

Newcastle United probable starting XI:

Pope; Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Hall; Willock, Tonali, Ramsey; Barnes, Woltemade, Gordon

There will be no replays in the FA Cup this season, so this tightly contested match between two evenly matched sides could go the distance. Aston Villa has had the upper hand in recent encounters with Newcastle, and they might just find a way to progress to the fifth round this time.