Newcastle United play Aston Villa at St James Park tomorrow night, and the two teams go into the game on the back of contrasting results.

Newcastle were hammered 4-1 by Coventry City last week, while Villa are on the up after a slow start. They drew 2-2 with Brentford last weekend and thrashed Fenerbahçe 6-0 in midweek.

Both teams need a result. But who will come out on top?

Key Battles

Dan Burn or Sven Botman v Johan Manzambi

Manzambi has had a good start to his Premier League career, scoring one goal and registering two assists in three appearances, showing why Newcastle were so keen to sign him this summer.

He will be licking his lips at the prospect of facing a Newcastle defence that has conceded 13 league goals already this season. His pace will be an issue for the Toon centre-backs – whoever they are.

Many fans and pundits think that Dan Burn should replace Sven Botman, but is Burn fit enough? If he isn’t and Botman plays, expect the Villa attack, including Manzambi, to put the out-of-form Dutchman under pressure.

Matias Fernandez-Pardo v Victor Lindelӧf and Pau Torres

Villa have conceded 11 goals themselves this season, but they seem to be playing themselves into form.

They have an experienced centre-back pairing in Victor Lindelӧf and Pau Torres, so Fernandez-Pardo – if he retains his place up front – will have his work cut out.

He is exceptionally fast but lacking that striker’s killer instinct right now. If he can get himself into some of the same positions he did against Coventry, he has a chance to put things right. But does he have the confidence to do it?

The Tactical Battle

The question for a lot of Newcastle fans will be whether Matthias Jaissle should stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation that we have seen so far this season, or to change to a formation that would allow him to put more bodies in midfield.

Joelinton should be fit to start, so he could slot into midfield alongside Nico González and possibly Sean Steur in more of a 4-3-3. Steur was an unused substitute against Coventry, but his forward-thinking play would be a good counterbalance to Nico and Joelinton.

If Jaissle does stick with the 4-2-3-1, then Unai Emery will look to exploit the spaces created in central midfield. The Spaniard is a wily tactician who has a gameplan for almost every scenario, so Jaissle will have to get everything right to outfox the Spaniard.

Form Guide

Newcastle’s league form is, well…mixed. They have won two, drawn two, and lost two of their last six. Compare that to Villa, who have won one, drawn two, and lost three. But the Villans’ form overall is much better: they have won four and lost one of their games in all competitions.

Newcastle have the better head-to-head record though: they have won six of their last ten matches against Villa – but Villa have won the last two meetings at St James’ Park.

(Stats via Sports Mole)

Here’s a look at their all-time head-to-head record:

Predicted Newcastle XI

Horníček, Hall, Burn, Thiaw, Dedić, Nico, Joelinton, Willock, Barnes, Murphy, Fernandez-Pardo

Score Prediction

Newcastle 1-3 Villa

With the home crowd behind them Newcastle should come out firing, but I fear that their defensive frailties will be exposed by a ruthless Villa.