𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Some interesting decisions faced Villa boss Unai Emery and he’s opted for Ollie Watkins to start up front instead of Marcus Rashford, while Ian Maatsen is the preferred left-back to Lucas Digne. The seemingly undroppable Morgan Rogers also starts in attack.

For Newcastle, stand-in boss Jason Tindall has decided not to tinker with a good thing – choosing a unchanged starting XI once more. That means Anthony Gordon is still on the bench with in-form duo Jacob Murphy and Harvey Barnes on the wings and Alexander Isak through the middle

Aston Villa XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen; McGinna, Kamara; Rogers, Tielemans, Asensio; Watkins

Newcastle XI: Pope; Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento; Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton; Murphy, Isak, Barnes

The team news is in for both sides ahead of the 5.30pm kick-off

Newcastle have won their last six games in all competitions, scoring 17 goals while conceding three.

They have been strong travellers this season and have won eight of their last 10 away matches – with their defeats coming at Manchester City and Liverpool.

The last time they won ninth Premier League games away from home in a season was 23 years ago – but they could match that record with victory today.

Stand-in Newcastle boss Jason Tindall has told Eddie Howe to concentrate on getting better after guiding the club into third place in the Premier League.

Number two Tindall was placed in temporary charge at St James’ Park at the weekend with Howe being treated in hospital for pneumonia.

Tindall said: “We had to do the preparation all last week ourselves because obviously Eddie was in hospital and he needed to rest and recover, so we had minimal contact, and that’s been the same for preparations for this game and the remaining games whilst he’s not here.

“The last thing Eddie needs or wants is the stress of having to think about football and tactics and everything else that he would need to try to manage from home because that won’t get him better in a quick enough period.”

Newcastle turned on the style in the absence of head coach Eddie Howe to rout Crystal Palace and ease themselves into third place in the Premier League table.

The Magpies swept the Eagles aside in a game which had promised to be much more taxing as efforts from Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes, Fabian Schar and Alexander Isak either side of Marc Guehi’s own goal and Nick Pope’s penalty save from Eberechi Eze provided the perfect tonic for Howe as he continues his recovery from pneumonia.

Aston Villa exited the Champions League in heroic fashion against Paris Saint-Germain but their goal now is to make sure they are back next season.

It is a big week for Villa with six-pointers against Newcastle and Manchester City followed by their FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace.

Newcastle are not thought to have any fresh injury concerns, with a fit-again Anthony Gordon likely to feature off the bench again after both Jacob Murphy and Harvey Barnes scored against Crystal Palace.

Unai Emery could give Ollie Watkins a start after an impactful performance off the bench last weekend, and may also freshen up his midfield after a taxing European tie.

Aston Villa vs Newcastle is due to kick off at 5.30pm BST on Saturday 19 April at Villa Park.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage on the channels from 5pm BST. Subscribers can stream the action via Sky Go.

Aston Villa and Newcastle battle in a potentially crucial meeting of two ambitious Premier League clubs.

The visitors continued their flying form in midweek with a 5-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace lifting them into the third, with the side thriving even in the absence of manager Eddie Howe as he recovers from pneumonia.

The chase for the five Champions League qualification places is fierce, though, with Aston Villa able to close the gap to their opponents to just two points with a win here.

Unai Emery’s side are similarly enjoying an excellent run and will hope to bounce back from a narrow European exit against Paris Saint-Germain.