Newcastle v Aston Villa Betting Tips: Hosts to regain winning ways

These two Championship sides were in the Premier League last season but only Newcastle are having a good time in the second tier this time around as they sit in the automatic promotion spots whilst Aston Villa are just six points clear of the drop-zone.

It will probably be the biggest shock of the Football League season if Newcastle fail to get promoted automatically but so far they are going about their business well and are currently five points above 3rd place. They can go top of the table with a victory over Villa on Monday night.

Unsurprisingly for a club with the resources that the Toon possess, they are top of the charts in both the offensive and defensive departments with an incredible 60 goals scored and just 25 conceded in 31 Championship matches. Additionally, they have only failed to find the back of the net in four league games this season and have kept clean sheets in 42% of their matches.

Interestingly, Rafa Benitez’s side have secured more points on their travels than they have at St. James’s Park this season (35 compared to 31). However, they are on a strong run at home right now with no defeats in their last four in a run including three wins.

Steve Bruce was heralded as the saviour when he walked into Villa Park a few months ago, however, they are currently bottom of the Championship form table with just two points gained from their last eight league fixtures, suffering four successive defeats.

Goals are the big problem for Villa and they are the third-lowest scorers in the league with just 30 goals in 31 matches, scoring more than twice in just two league matches this season. Defensively, Steve Bruce has got them a bit more organised but they still seem to let in very sloppy goals.

As well as having one of the worst goal-scoring records in the division, the Lions also have one of the worst away records with just 11 points from 16 games. Villa have only won twice on their travels in the league (Premier League and Championship) since beating Bournemouth on the opening day of the 2015/16 season.

We have seen teams get a result at Newcastle this season but I am not sure we will see that happen here as Villa’s confidence is low and the Toon are once again on the rampage. The away side are hapless in front of goal and I expect this sturdy Newcastle back-line to deal with them comfortably. ‘Newcastle to Win to Nil’, at 7/5, makes plenty of sense here.

Click here to see Monday’s FA Cup tip.