Newcastle will be looking to bounce back quickly when they host Aston Villa in the Premier League at St James’ Park on Saturday evening.
After signing off for the international break with a 2-1 win over Hull, the Magpies returned to action with a heavy 4-1 defeat away to Coventry on Monday night.
That bruising setback leaves Matthias Jaissle’s men 11th in the table, although they are just three points off the top four heading into the weekend.
Back on home turf, the Newcastle faithful will expect a response when Aston Villa come to town.
After a slow start to the season, Unai Emery’s side have shown signs of improvement in the Premier League, beating Tottenham 3-2 away before drawing 2-2 at home to Brentford last weekend.
A 6-0 Champions League thrashing of Fenerbahce gave Villa another boost in midweek and landed my goals accumulator in the process.
How the bookies view it: Toon Army to triumph
Newcastle have won just two of their opening six Premier League games this season, but come into this clash as 23/20 favourites on bet365.
The draw could offer value at 13/5, given it has landed in two of the Magpies’ three top-flight home games this term.
Aston Villa won their most recent Premier League away game and are 2/1 to repeat the trick on Tyneside.
Head to head: History favours the hosts
Newcastle hold the edge in the head-to-head, winning 77 of their 178 meetings with Aston Villa. Villa have claimed 61 victories, while the other 40 games have ended all square.
Emery’s side won 2-0 at St James’ Park last season, and bet365 offer a whopping 22/1 for a repeat on Saturday.
Players to watch: Manzambi to make his mark?
Johan Manzambi has registered three shots on target across Aston Villa’s last two Premier League games and also got on the scoresheet against Fenerbahce in midweek. With that in mind, the 8/11 with bet365 for the Swiss ace to register another shot on target represents value.
Joelinton is expected to start for Newcastle on Saturday after coming off the bench against Coventry on Monday. He was booked during that 4-1 defeat, and the Brazilian’s tough-tackling approach makes the 13/5 with bet365 for him to be booked again worthy of support.
Predicted line-ups
Ewen Jaouen and Valentino Livramento are ruled out for Newcastle through injury, while Anthony Elanga, Bazoumana Toure and Jacob Ramsey will need to be assessed.
Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen, Matteo Ruggeri and Modou Cisse are confirmed injury absentees for Aston Villa, while George Hemmings and Brian Madjo face late fitness tests.
Newcastle: Hornicek; Dedic, Thiaw, Botman, Hall; Joelinton, Gonzalez, Willock; Murphy, Osula, Barnes
Aston Villa: Suzuki; Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Wan-Bissaka; Kamara, Gomes; McGinn, Buendia, Manzambi; Jackson
Anything else catch the eye?
With neither side making a particularly convincing start to the season, I’m swerving the match result market and instead pairing both teams to score with both teams to receive a card in a bet builder at 10/11 with bet365.
This combination would have landed in five of Newcastle’s opening six top-flight fixtures.
The case is strengthened by the fact that it has also paid out in each of Aston Villa’s last three Premier League matches.
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