Aston Villa welcomes Newcastle United to VIlla Park looking to earn a second straight win to open the 2014/15 season. Villa defeated Stoke City 1-0 last weekend, violent shaking their fists at all those people who are convinced there one of the three teams that will end up relegated in May. In their way this week is Newcastle United who lost 2-0 against Manchester City despite playing well against the defending champions.
Aston Villa vs. Newcastle: Preview and TV schedule
The Villians hope to pick up their second win on the young season as Newcastle travels to Villa Park.
Key Player: Siem de Jong (Newcastle)
After missing Newcastle’s opening weekend match with an injury, the Magpies’ big summer signing Siem de Jong appears ready to make his debut. Considering that Newcastle was able to generate chances against City, they have to feel good about their chances against a much weaker Aston Villa side. De Jong should hopefully provide the scoring touch they need to actually finish there chances, something they failed to do last weekend.
Key Matchup: Villa defense vs. Newcastle attack
There’s little doubt that the defensive performance from Aston Villa was the key to their win over Stoke City. The central defensive pairing of Ron Vlaar and new signing Philippe Senderos, along with fullbacks Aly Cissokho and Alan Hutton, were able to keep Stoke under control on their way to a clean sheet. Newcastle’s attack should provide a more formidable challenge, despite the fact they didn’t score a goal in their season opener.
Aston Villa injuries and suspensions
Out: Christian Benteke (achilles), Libor Kozak (broken leg).
Newcastle injuries and suspensions
Out: Cheick Tiote (hamstring), Davide Santon (knee), Papiss Cisse (knee), Ryan Taylor (knee). In Doubt: Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa (knock).
Villa will be without both Christian Benteke and Libor Kozak as they continued to rehab from long-term injuries. Newcastle will again be missing midfielder Cheick Tiote thanks to a nagging hamstring injury. Fullback Davide Santon suffered a setback as he recovered from a knee injury and is expected to be out until November. Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa could miss out as well after picking up an injury in training.
Match Date/Time: Friday, 12:45 p.m. local, 7:45 a.m. ET
Venue: Villa Park, Birmingham, England
TV: NBCSN (U.S.), BT Sport 1 (U.K.), Sportsnet Regional (Canada)
Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.)
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