Newcastle v Aston Villa
Barclays Premier League
Venue: St James' Park Date: Sunday, 22 August Kick-off: 1330 BST
Coverage: BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live, local radio & talkSPORT, highlights on Match of the Day 2 and live on ESPN
Newcastle duo Danny Guthrie and Peter Lovenkrands should return after missing the opening weekend with injuries.
Summer signing Sol Campbell is still working his way towards match fitness.
Aston Villa striker John Carew should be fit despite an ongoing knee problem, but Gabby Agbonlahor is again absent with a hamstring injury.
The senior players excused from Europa League duty will return, while new signing Stephen Ireland is expected to make his debut on his 24th birthday.
Newcastle
Doubtful: Guthrie (knee), Lovenkrands (groin)
Injured: Best & Simpson (both ankle), Campbell (fitness), Gosling (knee), S Taylor (shoulder)
Aston Villa
Doubtful: Carew (knee)
Injured: Agbonlahor & Cuellar (both hamstring), Collins (calf), Delph (knee), Sidwell (Achilles), Weimann (ankle)
Caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald guided Aston Villa to their biggest opening-day win for 17 years but insists he is not a big enough name to succeed Martin O'Neill. However, captain Stiliyan Petrov says MacDonald deserves a chance, while owner Randy Lerner says he was a contender even before victory against West Ham.
 |
Much will depend on how Kevin [MacDonald] feels, whether he thinks this might be right for him, if he is comfortable with the idea of being Villa's manager
Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner
|
O'Neill was criticised by some Villa fans for his reluctance to rotate his squad, a lesson MacDonald appears to have heeded. He gambled on a mixture of fringe and youth players for Thursday's Europa League tie away to Rapid Vienna, achieving an encouraging 1-1 draw.
Chris Hughton has proved that promoting from within can work, having guided Newcastle to promotion last season despite beginning the campaign as a stop-gap while Mike Ashley looked to sell the club.
Newcastle were relegated from the top flight after defeat at Aston Villa 15 months ago, so it is fitting that the Villans provide the opposition as Premier League football returns to St James' Park.
The Magpies did not suffer a single home defeat during their season in the Championship and will want to preserve the Tyneside feelgood factor for as long as possible.
Head-to-head
• The Magpies are unbeaten in their last four games against Villa at St James' Park.
• Their last home defeat to the Villans was a 3-0 loss in 2005, a match best remembered for the fisticuffs between Newcastle team-mates Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer, both of whom were sent off.
|
606: DEBATE
|
Newcastle
• The Magpies converted 20% of their chances into goals last season, the highest proportion in the Championship.
• Newcastle did not lose a single home match in last year's Championship, winning 18 of their 23 games.
• Their last home defeat, in league or cup, was a 1-0 loss to Fulham on 16 May 2009.
Aston Villa
• Villa collected 32 league points on their travels last season. Only Chelsea (34) and Manchester United (36) had better away records.
• The Villans' 64-point tally last season was their best since they finished as runners-up in 1993.
• Emile Heskey could make his 500th career league appearance. He has scored 113 goals. His last away goal was at Sunderland in December.
Newcastle
Yet to score
|
Aston Villa
Downing, Milner, Petrov (all 1 league goal); Bannan (1 cup goal)
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Assistant referees: Dean Mohareb & Patrick Keane
Fourth official: Stuart Atwell
Newcastle (L0-3 v Manchester United, a): Harper, Perch, Coloccini, Williamson, Jose Enrique, Routledge, Smith, Nolan (Ameobi 71), Barton, Gutierrez (Xisco 80), Carroll. Subs Not Used: Krul, Ryan Taylor, Vuckic, Ranger, Tavernier.
Aston Villa (W3-0 v West Ham, h): Friedel, Luke Young, Clark, Dunne, Warnock, Downing, Albrighton (Bannan 89), Petrov, Milner (Reo-Coker 85), Ashley Young (Weimann 86), Carew. Subs Not Used: Guzan, Heskey, Beye, Lichaj.
Potenshöjande medel - köp viagra receptfritt
No comments:
Post a Comment