Premier League: Aston Villa v Newcastle United

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33 min: Alex Moreno tries to send another cross in from the left. His effort is blocked and Villa win a throw-in. It’s taken, Moreno gives the ball away and Newcastle clear their lines.

31 min: After good link-up play with his fellow bottle-blond Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes sends a low cross into the Villa penalty area. Tyrone Mings clears the ball with a minimum of fuss.

30 min: Joe Willock tries to jink past Dendoncker down by the byline but the Belgian puts the ball out of play, ensuring it takes a touch off Willock en route. Goal kick.

28 min: Villa throw-in deep in Newcastle territory, won through good work by McGinn. Once again, Alex Moreno gets to the byline and stands the ball up at the far post, where Dan Burn clears with his head. Villa are bossing this game and should be further ahead but Newcastle are far from out of it.

26 min: Leander Dendoncker tries a shot from 30 yards out but sends his effort over the bar.

24 min: Watkins combines with Buendia as Villa surge forward again. His shot from a tight angle takes a deflection off Sven Botman, loops up in the air and drops just wide of the far post. From the resultant corner, the ball is cleared, then sent back into the Newcastle penalty area by John McGinn. Buendia isn’t quite tall enough to get his head to it. Excellent play from Aston Villa.

Emiliano Buendia can’t quite connect with McGinn’s cross. Photograph: Geoff Caddick/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 08.03 EDT

23 min: Jacob Murphy curls a delightful ball across the edge of the Villa six-yard box from the right but it’s a mite to close to goal for Alex Isak to connect with.

21 min: Trippier plays a ball down the inside right for Bruno Guimaraes to chase. Emi Martinez charges out of his penalty area and wins the ball, which breaks towards Ollie Watkins. He gets fouled by Fabian Schar, whose name is taken by the referee.

Updated at 07.53 EDT

18 min: There’s been a break in play so Ramsey could receive treatment for an injury. Newcastle will welcome the interruption because they are on the ropes and but for the woodwork, might easily be 3-0 down already. Nick Pope’s also been forced to make a fine save from Watkins, sticking out a foot to block the Villa striker’s shot in the build-up to that Ramsey miss.

15 min: Villa are all over Newcastle and Ollie Watkins is causing the visitors’ defence all sorts of problems. On this occasion he brings a marvellous save out of Nick Pope with a shot through the legs of Fabian Schar. Villa recycled the ball and Moreno teed up Ramsey with a pull-back from the byline. With the goal at his mercy, on this occasion he spanks the ball off the cross-bar. It’s another let-off for Newcastle.

Updated at 08.26 EDT

13 min: That was a tremendous assist from Watkins, who leaped to knock down a curled cross from John McGinn straight into the path of Ramsey. The finish was fine too; a lesser man might have panicked and sent the ball soaring towards the back of the Holte End.

GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 Newcastle United (Ramsey 11)

Villa lead! Jacob Ramsey smashes the bouncing ball home from 12 yards or so, latching on to an excellent downward header from Ollie Watkins after the ball had been crossed from the right.

Jacob Ramsey fires in the opener after great work from Ollie Watkins. Photograph: Craig Brough/Action Images/Reuters

Updated at 07.47 EDT

10 min: Villa clear Trippier’s outswinger and advance upfield on the break with Moreno on the ball. The counter-attack comes to nothing and Newcastle win a free-kick halfway inside their own half for a foul committed by Douglas Luiz.

9 min: Alexander Isak takes Newcastle’s first shot in anger. His rising drive is straight at Emi Martinez, who palms the ball over the bar. Corner for Newcastle.

8 min: Newcastle advance down the left with Anthony Gordon on the ball. He runs into traffic and loses it.

7 min: Villa attack down the left. Alex Moreno skips past Kieran Trippier and cuts inside. His cross is cleared.

5 min: Anthony Gordon and Ashley Young contest a fifty-fifty ball out by the far touchline and the ball goes out for a Villa throw-in.

4 min: In a central position, Buendia tries to play Watkins in behind again but can’t get enough pace on his ball around the corner towards the edge of the penalty area.

2 min: That’s some let-off for Newcastle in these very early stages. Such is the excellent form Watkins finds himself these days, you’d have fancied him to score. He wasn’t far away.

1 min: With less than 30 seconds gone, Ollie Watkins is played in behind Sven Botman by a long ball from Douglas Luiz. He holds off the Newcastle defender, rolls the ball past Nick Pope and on to the foot of the post. What a chance that was!

Watkins beats Pope, but not the post! Photograph: Geoff Caddick/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 07.37 EDT

Kick-off: Aston Villa v Newcastle is go …

1 min: With Gareth Southgate in attendance alongside England U-21 manager Lee Carsley, Emi Buendia gets the ball rolling for Aston Villa.

Not long now: The teams line up in the tunnel, Villa led by John McGinn and Newcastle by Kieran Trippier. Referee John Brooks and his team of match officials lead them out for the last of the pre-match formalities and kick-off is just a few minutes away at a rocking Villa Park.

Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins surfs into this game on a wave of confidence having scored in nine of his side’s past 11 games. Photograph: Ryan Browne/Shutterstock

Updated at 07.22 EDT

Newcastle United goalkeeper Nick Pope warms up ahead of kick-off. Photograph: Craig Brough/Action Images/Reuters

Howe v Emery: It is not lost on Eddie Howe that the only reason he was given the chance to manage Newcastle under their new ownership regime is because Unai Emery turned down the job having been approached first.

The subject was raised at Howe’s pre-match press conference and he was happy to concede that Emery’s decision not to leave Villarreal for Tyneside constituted a massive career break for him.

“Without a doubt it was [life changing],” he said. “I don’t really think back to that moment, maybe I should. But I very rarely tend to go back. I always believe your life takes the journey it is meant to go on. I was due to come here, that is what happened. But I am here because Unai turned the job down, so I’m delighted that he did.

“Fate has a strange way of working and now we come together. I have nothing but respect for the job he has done and the career he has had. But I’m very thankful he made that decision. You can see what I’m like week to week, I’m consistent and similar with my reactions.”

Eddie Howe would not have got the chance to guide Newcastle up the Premier League table if Unai Emery had not turned down an opportunity from Newcastle’s Saudi owners. Photograph: David Horton/CameraSport/Getty Images

Updated at 07.09 EDT

Aston Villa v Newcastle United line-ups

Aston Villa: Martinez, Young, Konsa, Mings, Moreno, Dendoncker, Ramsey, McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Buendia, Watkins

Subs: Olsen, Sinisalo, Carlos, Traore, Chambers, Duran, Digne, Revan, Patterson

Newcastle United: Pope, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn, Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes, Willock, Murphy, Isak, Joelinton

Subs: Dubravka, Lascelles, Wilson, Ritchie, Targett, Manquillo, Anderson, Longstaff

Callum Wilson (centre) has been left out of Newcastle’s starting line-up, with Alexander Isak getting the nod instead. Photograph: Craig Brough/Action Images/ReutersTeam news

Leander Dendoncker is a surprise in place of Leon Bailey for Aston Villa, with Bertrand Traore having to settle for a place on the bench despite scoring in his past two appearances as a substitute.

Anthony Gordon starts in place of Sean Longstaff in Newcastle’s only change, while Callum Wilson is unlikely to be pleased with a place among the substitutes, with Alexander Isak getting the nod up front.

Anthony Gordon has been drafted into Newcastle’s midfield in place of Sean Longstaff, despite his public display of dissatisfaction at being substituted in the closing moments of his side’s win over Brentford last weekend. Photograph: Serena Taylor/Newcastle United/Getty ImagesToday’s match officialsJohn Brooks leads the team of match officials tasked with maintaining order at VIlla Park this afternoon. Photograph: Vince Mignott/EPAEarly team news

Matty Cash, Philippe Coutinho and Boubacar Kamara all remain sidelined for Aston Villa, while Leon Bailey has been ruled out of today’s game with a hamstring injury. Bertrand Traore is expected to deputise.

For Newcastle, Emil Krafth remains out with the ACL injury that almost certainly ended his season back in August, while Allan St Maximin is expeted to miss the next few weeks with a hamstring injury. Miguel Almiron may return this afternoon after five weeks out with a thigh injury.

Premier League: Aston Villa v Newcastle United

Villa Park is the setting for a what promises to be an intriguing top flight encounter between two of the division’s up-and-coming forces. In third place and looking set fair to qualify for next season’s Champions League, Newcastle go into this game on the back of five consecutive wins, that mid-season blip that took in the Carabao Cup final an increasingly diminishing spec in the rear view mirror.

Nine points behind them in sixth place, Aston Villa are also on a charge up the table, unbeaten in six and having won their past four games. Under Unai Emery, qualification for the Europa League looks eminently possible for resurgent Villa and should they win today, they could conceivably set their sights even higher.

Kick-off at Villa Park is at 12.30pm (BST) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.

Villa Park is the venue for this afternoon’s match between Aston Villa and Newcastle. Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/Shutterstock