Boxing Day is here and that means a day full of Premier League football up and down the country.
On Tyneside, Newcastle United are back in action and hoping to make it four wins on the spin as we welcome Aston Villa to St James’ Park.
With that in mind, it’s time to predict what team Eddie Howe will select against Unai Emery’s Villains, who we will leapfrog with a win.
Here’s who we’re expecting to see start on today’s 3pm kick-off:
(4-3-3): Dubravka – Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall – Bruno, Tonali, Joelinton – Murphy, Isak, Gordon.
Over the last few games, I’ve kept wondering if Howe will rotate slightly and bring Trippier in at right-back, but it seems he’s sticking by his back four and in no rush to give Livramento a rest, which suits me against a dangerous Villa side with pace in attack.
However, I do think there’ll be a change in midfield. Willock didn’t really grab his chance at Ipswich despite us dominating.
He still looks rusty and is yet to hit his stride after a few injury issues, so I think we’ll see Joelinton come back straight into that left-sided midfield slot now he’s available after a one-game ban.
For Villa, it’ll be interesting to see if Ollie Watkins comes back into Unai Emery’s side after he was benched for their 2-1 win over Man City last weekend.
How do you see us lining up when the teams are released at 1.45pm? Let us know in the comments below!
Add Comment