Aston Villa vs Newcastle predicted XI: How much rotation will there be?
Newcastle United travel down to Birmingham to play Aston Villa on Saturday in the Championship.
Toon manager Rafa Benitez made a host of changes for their EFL Cup game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday – but will he do it again?
Achraf Lazaar and Daryl Murphy made their United debuts, while DeAndre Yedlin was handed his first start in the black and white.
With Vurnon Anita out suspended for three games, Yedlin could get his chance at right-back – although Chancel Mbemba can play there.
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Benitez has got plenty of options to chose from after a busy summer in the transfer market, but what combinations will he go for?
The Villains have only won once all season, but five draws shows that they are also tough to beat, so it won’t be an easy game.
Click through the slides below to see the Newcastle Toons predicted XI for the Villa game, while the predicted formation is 4-3-2-1.
Matz Sels
Rafa Benitez has set his stall out that Matz Sels will be his number one goalkeeper in the league, even if Karl Darlow is playing well.
Darlow started the EFL Cup victory over Wolves on Tuesday, but expect Benitez to revert back to normal and include the Belgian over the former Nottingham Forest lad.
However, Sels hasn’t been foolproof this campaign – and a shaky performance on the weekend could open the door for Darlow.
Paul Dummett and Chancel Mbemba
Rafa Benitez may have started Achraf Lazaar against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday night, but it’s likely Paul Dummett will come back into the side.
Dummett has started seven league games this season but sat out of the midweek win, and with Benitez’s love of rotation it seems like the most likely outcome that he starts.
Because DeAndre Yedlin started as well, Chancel Mbemba could come in as cover for the right-back area as Vurnon Anita is missing due to a suspension.
Jamaal Lascelles and Ciaran Clark
Skipper Jamaal Lascelles will come back into the first team, while Ciaran Clark should retain his place for the trip to his old club.
New signing Grant Hanley seems to have fallen below Clark in the pecking order – while both of them started on Tuesday it’s more likely that the Irishman will keep his place.
Both Lascelles and the former Aston Villa man have been in good form this campaign and there is no reason to break up the partnership.
Yoan Gouffran and Matt Ritchie
This is where it can get a little tricky to predict as Newcastle United have good depth on the wings with Ayoze Perez and Christian Atsu.
But both had excellent games and are in fine form, while Perez isn’t really a natural and Atsu is short of game time.
The Spanish manager will be keen to see the Chelsea loanee introduced at some point, but this fixture isn’t going to be the one.
If anything one out of Ritchie and Gouffran could be forced to sit out, but it’s still likely that Rafa Benitez will chose them both.
Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden
Jonjo Shelvey has become a vital part of the Newcastle United team and is very rarely dropped by Rafa Benitez.
Isaac Hayden, on the other hand, sat out of the game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday and could be reinstated.
The former Arsenal trainee seems to have leapfrogged Jack Colback in the pecking order, and the fact that he was left out of Tuesday’s game indictates he is being rested for the weekend.
Mohamed Diame and Dwight Gayle
Mohamed Diame will probably start once more in behind the striker, who is predicted to be Dwight Gayle.
Rafa Benitez will probably want to give Gayle another crack at the whip after Aleksandar Mitrovic played and scored last week against Queens Park Rangers.
Despite Diame starting during the week, he is becoming a key part of Benitez’s plans and so is predicted to start again.
Karl Darlow, Achraf Lazaar, DeAndre Yedlin, Jack Colback, Ayoze Perez, Aleksandar Mitrovic
Newcastle United have got a solid bench available to them, but it’s one that basically picks itself. In goal is Karl Darlow, there are no other options.
Both full-backs Achraf Lazaar and DeAndre Yedlin make the bench. If either of the starting central defenders picks up a knock, Chancel Mbemba or even Isaac Hayden can slot in as cover.
Jack Colback gets on in the middle of the park, mainly because there are no other options apart from a severely out of favour Cheick Tiote.
While in attack both Ayoze Perez and Aleksandar Mitrovic retain their places on the bench – the only notable exception is Christian Atsu.
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