TEAM NEWS
Aston Villa midfielder Fabian Delph has been ruled out with an ankle injury. Villa mananger Paul Lambert has to decide whether to risk a recall for central defender Richard Dunne, who has started training after a lengthy lay-off with a groin problem. The Scot will also check on the fitness of utility defender Nathan Baker who has returned to training after a hamstring injury.
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew will include four of his January signings in the squad. Midfielder Moussa Sissoko is likely to start along with full-back Mathieu Debuchy, while defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and striker Yoan Gouffran could also be involved and 20-year-old full-back Massadio Haidara will travel, but will not feature. Midfielder Yohan Cabaye (groin) is fit and striker Papiss Cisse is expected to shake off a training ground knock, but although full-back Danny Simpson (broken toe) and utility man Ryan Taylor (knee) are back in training, midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa (hamstring) is still several weeks away from a return.
MANAGER QUOTES
Paul Lambert: "There's no chance I'd walk away from it. You have to fight like anything to get up. You pick yourself up and there's no point in lying down and accepting it. I've never had a run like this as a manager or been hit from pillar to post like this. It's an experience you take on board and you use it. You can't have everything going your way in your managerial career every single time. You have to take the rough with the smooth and when the rough comes you take it."
Alan Pardew on Wilfried Zaha: "I knew all about him. For the last year we've been tracking him and talking to Crystal Palace. But it became very evident that trying to take a player of that ability from the Championship was not easy and bigger clubs were beginning to get involved and we were out of the equation. It's a shame, really. Coming to us he would play more games, but I'm sure Alex (Ferguson) would have a different view."
MATCH FACTS
Aston Villa have enjoyed just one win in their last five Premier League meetings with Newcastle (D2 L2), netting a total of four goals in this period while shipping 10.
At Villa Park, the Villans are unbeaten in their last five top tier clashes with the Magpies, winning four, drawing one and keeping three clean sheets in the process.
The one and only time that a Paul Lambert side hosted Alan Pardew's team in the Premier League came last season, when Norwich won 4-2 at Carrow Road.
Villa Park has witnessed fewer goals than any other Premier League stadium this season (24).
On average, Mike Dean has handed out a card for every 5.9 fouls in the Premier League this season; the most frequent of any referee.
Newcastle have won just three of their 18 Premier League matches since Alan Pardew signed a new 8-year contract (W3 D4 L11).
Villa have scored just five goals in their last seven meetings with Newcastle in the Premier League, with each of these arriving in the first half.
Aston Villa have won fewer points after 23 Premier League games in a season than ever before (20). They have also scored fewer goals (19) and conceded more often (44) than in any previous PL campaign at this stage.
This is also Newcastle's worst ever points tally after 23 games of a Premier League season (21).
Only two players (Gomis (25) and Aubameyang (24)) have scored more goals in Ligue 1 since the start of last season than Yoan Gouffran (22).
BETTING ODDS
Aston Villa 17/10, draw 12/5, Newcastle United 9/5
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