Aston Villa v Newcastle predicted line-ups and team news: major doubts for Villa and nine out for visitors

Aston Villa will look for a fourth consecutive clean sheet on Tuesday night when Premier League action resumes – but will face a stern test of their defensive resolve when Newcastle United make the trip to Villa Park.

The visitors have made serene progress through the FA Cup, beating Fulham and local rivals Sunderland without conceding, but have lost their last four league matches on the bounce and will have to make do without several players including key midfielder Joelinton, who has been ruled out until May following surgery.

We’ve got all the latest team news and injury updates ahead of a game which has implications for the title race and the battle for European qualification and ventured our best guesses at the two teams’ line-ups as well. And if you’re looking for news ahead of Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 22, we’ve got plenty of hints and transfer tips in our regular advice column from our resident Top 500 manager as well – just click here for that.

Aston Villa team news

Several players are doubts ahead of Tuesday’s match, with Pau Torres (ankle), Lucas Digne and Jacob Ramsey (both hamstring) all likely to miss out having been unavailable for the 0-0 FA Cup fourth round draw with Chelsea. Unai Emery has suggested that midfielder Ramsey is more likely to return for the weekend game against Sheffield United, while former Everton man Digne is also expected to miss out. The timeframe for Torres’ return is unclear, with no updates available ahead of Emery’s press conference on Monday afternoon.

Colombian forward Jhon Durán will also miss out due to a hamstring problem, and the striker, who had been linked with a move to Chelsea, will likely be out for two to three weeks. Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendía are long-term absentees, while Bertrand Traoré remains on international duty with Burkina Faso at the Africa Cup of Nations. His side face Mali in the round of 16 on Tuesday.

Aston Villa predicted line-up

Martínez; Moreno, Konsa, Lenglet, Cash; McGinn, Luiz, Kamara, Bailey; Diaby, Watkins.

Newcastle United team news

The Magpies will be without quite a few first-team players with their injury problems still proving to be relentless – and the news that midfielder Joelinton will be out until May following surgery on a thigh injury is a body blow for the club, with Eddie Howe going as far as to suggest that the Brazilian may have played his last game for Newcastle.

Centre-half Jamaal Lascelles (calf) will probably miss out, with Howe saying that is injury is not serious but will likely be “enough to keep him out of this game,” and while Harvey Barnes (toe) and Callum Wilson (ankle) are “getting closer” to a return, they too are expected to be unavailable, although they could be available for Saturday’s home game against Luton Town.

Elsewhere, Matt Targett (hamstring), Joe Willock (achilles), Elliot Anderson (back) and Nick Pope (shoulder) are all out with no set return dates, while Sandro Tonali remains suspended for gambling breaches. There is some good news, however, with Howe suggesting that Kieran Trippier (groin soreness) and Miguel Almirón (illness) should be available barring setbacks.

Newcastle predicted line-up

Dúbravka; Burn, Schär, Botman, Trippier; Bruno, Longstaff, Miley; Gordon, Almirón, Isak.