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Preview: Newcastle Utd vs Aston Villa – 23/02/14

Match preview by TJR, click here to go the our match discussion thread

As a result of a diabolical run of form, the mood on Tyneside is as bleak as the weather heading into this game. With Coloccini, Tioté and Rémy expected to be back though perhaps some rays of sunshine can break through those dark clouds.

This horrific run of form has to come to an end sometime and the sooner the better as Newcastle United haven’t won a game or scored a goal for over a month now, Saturday 18th of January being the last time we managed to do either, and even that was preceded by 4 losses in a row. That day influential midfielder and fan favourite Yohan Cabaye stole the show; he was serenaded by the Newcastle fans singing his name long after the final whistle in East London.

How times change, flash forward a little more than a month and the mood amongst the Newcastle fans couldn’t be any more different. Yohan Cabaye, the last player to score a goal for Newcastle United, is no longer with the club. Sold and not replaced. From that moment on the Newcastle United train has well and truly derailed. A goalless draw at Norwich is as good as it has got, standing out above thrashings from the mackems, Chelsea and Spurs. In fact the presence of Yohan Cabaye has been so vital to the team this season that they have failed to record a win in the 7 games he hasn’t played.

It’ll be no surprise to hear that Cabaye is our joint highest rated player this season according to the ToonForumIndex, sharing the honour and an average score of 6.61 with fellow midfielder Tioté. Unfortunately the Frenchman is no longer at the club, and there is nothing that can be done about that. He is a man with ambition, a desire to succeed and a hunger to achieve, whereas the Newcastle board are the opposite, and he has gone on to bigger and better things. It is down to the manager and players currently at the club to respond and get their season back on track.

According to WhoScored, French international right-back Debuchy is our highest rated player (as he was in the TFI until his moment of idiocy against Palace and poor form since serving his suspension) with the Belgian Benteke our opponents’ top rated player. Loïc Rémy also features high up the charts for Newcastle United and having served his suspension is likely to be the key man for a Toon side that has struggled for goals as of late. If we can start finding the net again it goes without saying our chances of getting some good results increase; it’s hard to win if you don’t score.

The form table goes some way to showing the horrific series of events that Alan Pardew has orchestrated in recent weeks. We are in the bottom 3, relegation form, equal on points from our last 6 with Cardiff and West Brom with only Fulham doing worse. That isn’t the full picture though; our last four league games at home have finished 0-1, 0-2, 0-3 and 0-4. Included in that run is the shocking stat that we lost our 3rd derby in a row for the first time since 1923.

The visit of Aston Villa allows Pardew the chance to add to his ever increasing tally of stats for being abysmal. This time we have the chance to lose 5 home league games in a row for the first time since 1953. We have of course just lost 5 home games in a row in all competitions (4 in the PL, 1 in the FA Cup) so Pardew has certainly showed he’s more than capable of achieving such an accolade. Aston Villa, meanwhile, sit 14th in the form league, two places below their position in the actual league table.

We currently sit 9th in the Premier League table, 6 points clear of a resurgent West Ham in 10th. Aston Villa on the other hand are fighting a relegation battle despite being placed 12th they are just 4 points above Sunderland in 18th and 9 points short of ourselves. Our league position is largely down to a magnificent run of form towards the end of last year as we went all of November unbeaten, at the minute we are set to achieve the polar opposite having gone all of February losing every single game if Aston Villa run out winners at St James Park.

I feel like I’ve given Pardew quite a bit of stick in this preview, not that he doesn’t deserve it. Even the most die-hard PDL (Pardew Defence League) member has to admit he’s got it horribly wrong recently. Personally, I’m not a member of the PDL, however the manager is not solely to blame for the club hitting the self-destruct button; Mike Ashley and the board haven’t exactly been making things easy and neither have the players. We have seen some horrific performances of late and as a result Pardew is expected to make some big changes, and he’ll be helped by the likely returns of some key players.

Newcastle United’s top scorer Loïc Rémy returns from a three game ban after a supposed head-butt on Bradley Johnson in the 0-0 encounter at Norwich. Captain Fabricio Coloccini has returned from his annual holiday in Argentina and vice-captain Cheick Tioté looks to have shaken off a hamstring problem. The two influential players returned to training this week; however it remains to be seen if they are ready to return to the starting line-up. If all three of Coloccini, Tioté and Rémy start it will be a massive lift for the club, effectively restoring the spine of the side.

Unfortunately extra-terrestrial Gabriel Obertan is expected to have recovered from his knee injury. Meanwhile Gaël Bigirimana and Ryan Taylor remain on the injury list.

Aston Villa are expected to have Jores Okore back from an ACL knee injury although it is unlikely he will start. Libor Kozak, Chris Herd and former Toon man Charles N’Zogbia all remain on the injury list.

Manager Quotes

Alan Pardew

We have two or three big, big players in and around the group who are back which is important. We need those players with the run we are on at the moment. If you compare to Liverpool, it would be like having Gerrard and Suarez back, that’s how important they are. It is fair to say we have missed Loïc and when you lose quality of striker it is going to be significant and we have missed Fab and Tioté too so to have them back is good.

The brief for the start of the season is top ten and we are looking to do that with 12 games to go and we want to secure that position quickly and see what we can do. We need a couple of wins quickly to attack the group above us we have had two really tough games and this is more realistic for us. Our home form has been uneasy in the last few games and we are looking to put that right.

That really wasn’t us against Spurs and we are better than that and we have to put that right. It was important to remind players of their responsibility, no matter how comfortable we are in the league, there is a certain standard and that will be reflected in the selection and I hope the result.

Paul Lambert:

The expectancy will be on Newcastle. They have been beaten at home pretty heavily in the last few games. We are going to go there on the front foot, because if we do then their crowd might become edgy. Any club that has a big fan base, especially at home they expect to win. When things are going against you then you can hear the grumblings. And sometimes, as a player, it can get to you. You have got to try to get their crowd against them.

‘Expert’ Opinion

Lawro:

From manager Alan Pardew down to their players and fans, Newcastle just look completely unsettled at the moment. The Magpies’ rhythm and form has gone out of the window. They are in a similar position to Southampton in that they are not going down and not going to climb much further up the league but, since selling Yohan Cabaye in January and failing to replace him, they have lost pretty much all of their forward momentum. I am going for a draw on Sunday and I think that will suit Aston Villa too. Their form has generally been better than last season, and now they just need to keep ticking over to stay clear of the relegation battle. I think they will be fine, but that is as much to do with the teams below them as anything else. Prediction: 1-1.

Potential Line-Up

<krul>
<debuchy> <willo> <colo> <santon>
<anita> <tiote>
<hba> <sissoko> <gouff>
<remy>

If Colo is fit to start, his return will probably/hopefully see cheerleader/clown Steven ‘fist pumps’ Taylor dropped. The return of Rémy adds fire power to our attack. On paper a front three of Ben Arfa, Rémy and Gouffran is our strongest line up however Ben Arfa has been mismanaged of late and, along with Marveaux, unfairly blamed in the 4-0 defeat to Spurs meaning that he may not start. Who knows what team Pardew will put out, this is one of the few times where his line up isn’t predictable.

The potential return of Colo will be key though, we’ve really missed him of late, and not just his defensive ability but also his calming presence on the pitch. He’s the sort of player who gets the best out of those around him, everyone tends to play better when he’s in the team and his influence on and off the pitch is needed. Plus it means breaking up the horrific partnership of Taylor and Williamson.

The referee for this fixture is Martin Atkinson. He’s refereed us twice this season, first in the 2-3 defeat at home to Hull, and then the last time we won a home game, Boxing Day against Stoke. That day we won 5-1 and Atkinson played a big role in us getting that win as he sent off two Stoke players and there coat-less manager Mark Hughes. The 42 year old wasn’t as well liked on Tyneside before boxing day, however, as he was the referee who approved of the vicious assault on Hatem Ben Arfa, allowing him to suffer a double leg break and not even awarding a free kick, never mind sending off the thug who committed such a brutal attack.

The mood in and around Newcastle is negative at the moment and understandably so. However you never know, as unlikely as it is we might actually win the game. After all we have Shola Ameobi. Keep calm and think of Shola.

Where to Watch/Listen

Tickets are still available and on sale from £27 for adults and £5 for children.

The match is live on Sky Sports 1 with coverage starting at 12:30. Radio commentary is on BBC Newcastle (local) and talkSPORT (national/international).

Overseas TV coverage (via nufc.com)

beIN Sports 4 +HD
C+ Liga Campeones +HD
Fox Sports 2HD
Futbol 2 (Ukraine) +HD
GOL Stadium (Spain)
Lumiere TV1 (Cyprus)
MTV Sport 2 (Finland)
NBC Sports Live Extra
Nova Sport (Bulgaria) +HD
NTV Plus Futbol 2 +HD
OLL TV (Ukraine)
Planet TV (Slovenia)
PremierLeaguePass (NZ)
QQ Sports Live (China)
SportKlub (Bos/Cro/Serb)
SportKlub 2 +HD
Star Sports (India)
SuperSport 5 (Za) +HD
SuperSport HD2 (Africa)
TSN (Canada)
TV2 Sport Premium 2 HD
TV3+ (Denmark) +HD
ViaPlay (Denmark) +HD
Viasat XTRA PL 1 (Sweden)

How do you think Newcastle will do? Have your say in our match chat thread here.