Newcastle United v Aston Villa

Team news

Joelinton is expected to be available for Newcastle United, having completed a suspension and had stitches in and around his ear as a consequence of being accidentally trodden on during last week's Carabao Cup win over Brentford.

Joe Willock has overcome the blow to the head that prompted his substitution against Ipswich.

Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey is back in full training after a six-week absence with a hamstring issue.

Defender Diego Carlos, who missed Saturday's win over Manchester City because of a minor injury, will be assessed.

Match facts

Head-to-head

• Newcastle are unbeaten in 15 Premier League home matches against Aston Villa since a 3-0 loss in April 2005 (W9, D6). They've won the last three in a row by an aggregate score of 10-1.

• Aston Villa could suffer a third straight Premier League defeat in this fixture, home and away, for the first time since February 2014.

Newcastle United

• Newcastle have won back-to-back Premier League games by a four-goal margin for only the third time, having previously done so in August 1994 and September 1998.

• They have never earned three consecutive league victories by a margin of four goals or more.

• Successive league wins is as many as they managed in their previous 11 matches.

• The Magpies have lost their past three Boxing Day home fixtures, the longest such streak in the club's history.

• Newcastle's total of 16 Premier League defeats on Boxing Day is a competition record, with Aston Villa next on 15 losses.

• Alexander Isak has scored 23 Premier League goals in 2024, behind only Erling Haaland's 26 and Cole Palmer's 25. The only Newcastle players to score more than Isak in a calendar year are Alan Shearer, with 27 goals in 2002, and Andrew Cole, who netted 24 times in 1994.

• Jacob Murphy has three goals and three assists in his past three league appearances.

Aston Villa

• Villa's current run of four successive Premier League away defeats is their joint longest since returning to the top flight in 2019. They previously lost four in a row in 2022 under Steven Gerrard and haven't fared worse since a seven-match losing streak between February and May 2016.

• Unai Emery's side have averaged 1.54 points per league game this calendar year, compared to 2.02 points in 2023.

• Aston Villa have suffered three straight Boxing Day defeats, conceding three goals each time. They've only once lost four times in a row on 26 December, between 1932 and 1935.

• Jhon Duran has scored in four successive appearances and in all six competitive starts for Villa this season. His record of a goal every 80 minutes is the best in the current Premier League campaign.