Premier League: Aston Villa v Newcastle United betting preview, tip & TV

Football tips, best bets and predictions for Aston Villa v Newcastle United in the Premier League.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 8pm Monday

Best bet

Newcastle
1pt 3-1 Betfair

Team news

Aston Villa
Jack Grealish and Tom Heaton have returned to training but need to be assessed. Bjorn Engels and Matt Targett can return. Jota is unlikely to be available and Jed Steer is definitely out.

Newcastle
Jamaal Lascelles and Matt Ritchie are out, while Ciaran Clark is Steve Bruce's "biggest worry." Fabian Schar and Florian Lejeune are available.

Match preview

Much-travelled manager Steve Bruce will be used to facing his former clubs given how many different teams he has coached and he could have the last laugh over Aston Villa.

The Villa Park faithful had clearly had enough of the former Sheffield United, Huddersfield, Wigan, Crystal Palace, Birmingham, Sunderland, Hull and Sheffield Wednesday chief long before he was axed and he was viewed as something of a dinosaur in modern football.

Few Newcastle supporters were happy with Bruce's appointment to replace Rafael Benitez despite his Geordie roots and a difficult season seemed certain when United started out with successive defeats to Arsenal and Norwich.

That Carrow Road performance was a horror show, however, a 1-0 success at Tottenham steadied the club and the only other disappointment was a 5-0 hammering at Leicester when Isaac Hayden saw red in the first half.

The Foxes scored with all five of their shots on target and since going down at Norwich their only losses were away to high-quality opponents Leicester, Liverpool and Chelsea.

Newcastle have beaten Spurs and Manchester United, while their last couple of performances - a 3-2 success at West Ham and 2-1 triumph against Bournemouth - were excellent.

Bruce's boys fired in 18 shots on target in those 180 minutes as Newcastle have become more positive with Miguel Almiron and the delightful Allan Saint-Maximin getting much closer to the previously isolated Joelinton.

Jonjo Shelvey's set-pieces are a vital weapon and Newcastle look a fair old price given Villa are four points worse off in the table.

Dean Smith, a popular appointment to replace Bruce, will be slightly alarmed by his side posting only three victories this term given the Sky Bet Championship playoff winners spent a hefty amount in the summer.

Their recent fixtures have been really rough with clashes against Manchester City and Liverpool, and Villa were hit by injuries for their 2-1 defeat at Wolves before the international break.

The probable return of Jack Grealish, Bjorn Engels and Tom Heaton gives Villa a boost, but 20 goals conceded is an alarming statistic for anyone looking to back the favourites.

Grealish and John McGinn are classy operators but Wesley is far from prolific and Bruce can show there is life in the old dinosaur yet.