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Match Previews

Match Preview – Aston Villa v Newcastle United

11 years ago
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Villa fans packing the ground as usual…

Aston Villa v Newcastle United
Tuesday 29 January 2012 7.45pm 

If Newcastle United don’t walk away with something from Villa Park tonight then I will start to worry, however many players we bring in this month.

The home side’s morale must be rock bottom after going out of the cups to League 2 Bradford and Championship Millwall in the last week, while only eight goals and two wins at home underlines why they are currently only one point above the relegation zone.

As to why Newcastle are only two points above the bottom three, well we’d all like to think it is all a bit more complicated than simply being rubbish as Villa appear to be.

Benteke is clearly their man to watch as he has scored a mighty ten of the eighteen goals Villa have scored altogether in the league. Depending on injuries and team selection we’ll have to wait and see whether we’ll be facing old boys such as Shay Given, Charles N’Zogbia and…Stephen Ireland.

Things pretty much hit rock bottom with the dismal defeat against Reading, it wasn’t that United were terrible all match but more the fact that again a decent first half saw Newcastle fail to kill the game followed by a feeble finale where we just looked a beaten side.

Villa’s two home wins came against Reading and Swansea, while they have drawn four and lost five. We’ll all be hoping that the new signings as well as a fully fit and available Cabaye and Taylor will mean a more formidable starting eleven and perhaps just as importantly, options on the bench to possibly change the game or simply to close it out.

Paul Lambert has had the ominous vote of confidence this week from Randy Lerner and if Newcastle can score first, it seems almost guaranteed that their fickle fans will turn on manager and players.

After so many matches where the starting eleven pretty much picked itself, it will be almost an embarrassment of riches tonight and interesting to see exactly which of the new recruits Pardew plays.

Sissoko is already named as a starter by Alan Pardew but I can’t see how you can leave Yoan Gouffran out of the starting eleven with so few goals in the rest of the team. Gouffran is 13/2 to score the first goal and he gets my vote.

Debuchy is sure to start, while according to Pardew, 20 year old Haidara will travel but not be part of the eighteen. This leaves it between Steven Taylor and new boy Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa to help snuff out the threat of Benteke, surely with those two options now available he simply cannot persevere with Williamson?

I can see the manager starting with Taylor alongside Colo and together they can help us to an NUFC win priced at 8/5.

Cisse will be relishing having the support of a fully fit Yohan Cabaye and potentially another mobile striker in Gouffran, together I think they can deliver a 2-0 win at 15/1.

I can see United lining up with the following;

Krul, Debuchy, Taylor, Coloccini, Santon, Anita, Sissoko, Jonas, Cabaye, Gouffran, Cisse

With under thirty thousands tickets sold in advance, you can pay on the night at Villa Park, so if you haven’t got a ticket and you are in the Birmingham area, get along and support the lads to a victory which will hopefully be the start of something special….or at least a lot better than the rubbish we’ve watched recently!

NUFC To Win 8/5
Gouffran To Score First Goal 13/2
NUFC To Win 2-0 15/1

(Prices can fluctuate up and down)

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