Newcastle are home for the celebrations as they take on Aston Villa in what is expected to be a tight Boxing Day Premier League clash.
The Magpies remain a formidable force in St. James' Park and they go into Thursday's game with the wind in their sails. Eddie Howe's side have scored 16 times in their previous five appearances and a boost in December means they sit eighth in the Christmas table. A Carabao Cup semi-final with Arsenal also calls in the new year.
Aston Villa followed in Newcastle's footsteps by enjoying a return to the Champions League after their fourth-place finish last season. Unai Emery's side have their work cut out for them if they are to repeat their 2023/24 performance, but a 2-1 win which was complicated Manchester City'Saturday's misery means they are up to sixth in the table.
Surprise package Nottingham Forest are just three points clear of the Villans in fourth, but Newcastle will usurp their opponents on Boxing Day with another win on Tyneside.
Here it is 90 minutes guide to this fascinating Premier League duel.
Newcastle vs Aston Villa H2H record (last five matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Newcastle |
Aston Villa |
|---|---|
|
Ipswich 0-4 Newcastle – 21/12/24 |
Aston Villa 2-1 Man City – 21/12/24 |
|
Newcastle 3-1 Brentford – 18/12/24 |
Nottingham Forest 2-1 Aston Villa – 14/12/24 |
|
Newcastle 4-0 Leicester – 14/12/24 |
RB Leipzig 2-3 Aston Villa – 10/12/24 |
|
Brentford 4-2 Newcastle – 07/12/24 |
Aston Villa 1-0 Southampton – 07/12/24 |
|
Newcastle 3-3 Liverpool – 04/12/24 |
Aston Villa 3-1 Brentford – 04/12/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live streaming |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Amazon Prime Video |
|
United States |
fuboTV, nbcsports.com, NBC Sports App, UNIVERSO NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, USA Network, UNIVERSO |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 3 Canada |
Sven Botman is on the way back from an ACL injury after enjoying runs for the U21s, but the centre-back is not expected to make his full return until the new year.
Jamaal Lascelles is also recovering from a similar injury, but the Englishman is not that far along in his rehabilitation.
Joelinton and Nick Pope are both doubts after missing Saturday's win at Portman Road, while Callum Wilson and Emil Krafth remain sidelined with respective hamstring and collarbone injuries.
Howe should keep the front three firing on all cylinders over the past month. Anthony Gordon has been a constant presence on the right, Alexander Isak scored a hat-trick at the weekend, while Jacob Murphy has suddenly found his scoring boots after a slow start to the season.
Newcastle predicted formation against Aston Villa (4-4-1-1): Pope; Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall; Guimaraes, Tonali, Willock; Murphy, Isaac, Gordon.
The visitors' injury list is significantly shorter than Newcastle's with Jacob Murphy the only concern heading into this Boxing Day fixture. The Villa midfielder is suffering from a thigh injury and is unlikely to return to Tyneside.
Emery could choose a similar starting line-up from Saturday's 2-1 win over the champions. The Villa boss used Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana as a steel pivot to free Youri Tielemans with the trickery that was a treat against the Cityzens.
Jhon Duran deserves to retain his place at the top after scoring amid an excellent all-round display at the weekend.
Aston Villa predicted formation against Newcastle (4-3-3): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Onana, Tielemans; McGinn, Duran, Rogers.
This may be a 3pm kick-off, but the match will not be subject to blackout in the UK with Amazon Prime streaming all Boxing Day outings.
Newcastle are always high octane on the big occasion in St. Their performance against the champions was excellent, but to perform at that level in this environment is another challenge altogether.
A blistering Magpie attack will hold its own against an aggressive Villa back line, but this contest will be won or lost in the middle of the park. These engine rooms have stellar balance and have been key to their teams' recent successes.
All three results are on the table here, but we'll give the edge to the in-form hosts on Tyneside.