Aston Villa resume their bid to be involved in the Premier League title race with a trip to Newcastle United on Sunday. Both teams racked up victories in midweek European football action and will be hoping for similar results in the league.

Unai Emery’s side eked out a narrow 1-0 win away to Fenerbahce in the UEFA Europa League, thus making sure of a top-eight spot. Newcastle United meanwhile, continued to impress in the UEFA Champions League, as Eddie Howe’s side strolled to a 3-0 win over PSV Eindhoven, taking them to seventh in the table.

Over in the league, Villa eschewed the chance to claw back the gap to leaders Arsenal, losing 0-1 to Everton, remaining seven points behind in third place. Newcastle also suffered a disappointing 0-0 draw against bottom-placed Wolves last weekend, with Howe’s side still only three points off the top four spots.

Here’s everything you need to know about Sunday’s game.

How to watch:

The match will be will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event in the UK, NBC / Peacock in the U.S., JioHotstar in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN’s live updates.

Key Details:

Kick-off time: Sunday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. GMT (9 a.m. ET; 7:30 p.m. IST and 12 a.m. AEST, Monday)
Venue: St. James’ Park, Newcastle.
Referee: Jarred Gillett
VAR: John Brooks

Injury and Team News:

Newcastle United:

Bruno Guimarães, M: ankle, DOUBT
Dan Burn, D: rib, DOUBT, back in training
William Osula, F: ankle, DOUBT, back in training
Emil Krafth, D: knee, DOUBT,
Jamaal Lascelles, D: fitness, DOUBT
Tino Livramento, D: hamstring, OUT, est. return early March
Jacob Murphy, M: hamstring, OUT, est. return early March
Fabian Schär, D: ankle, OUT, est. return mid April

Aston Villa

Emiliano Martínez, GK: calf, DOUBT
Boubacar Kamara, M: knee, OUT, est. return early June
John McGinn, M: knee, OUT, est. return late February
Ross Barkley, M: knee, OUT, est. return early February

Talking Points:

How big a loss would Guimarães be?

The concern was on Eddie Howe’s face despite the victory midweek, as Bruno Guimarães came off with an ankle injury. Thankfully it is not as serious as initially feared, with Howe not ruling him out for the game against Villa. However, the Newcastle boss would do well to be cautious given Newcastle’s upcoming fixtures.

Newcastle face a crucial trip to Paris Saint-Germain next, after which they take on Liverpool at Anfield, and cap off a tough week with the second leg of their Carabao Cup semifinal at Manchester City. These are season-defining fixtures and Howe might be better off not risking Guimarães against Villa.

What might give Howe further pause is Newcastle’s record without Guimarães, who’s missed 10 games in the four seasons he’s been at the club, with Newcastle winning none of them (six draws, four losses). The combative midfielder has become all the more important for Howe this season, topping the club’s scoring and assist charts in the league (8G, 4A).

Howe is all too aware of the conundrum he faces, saying: “He’s a pivotal player, he’s been the match-winner for us so many times over the years. We need him, but we also need him fit and available and able to perform at his best levels so we will try to make all the calculations and come up with the right decision.”

Is Emery losing the plot after Tielemans shove?

The visuals weren’t great. As Villa hung on to a 1-0 lead against Fenerbahce, Unai Emery attempted to run down the clock in injury time with the substitution of Youri Tielemans. The Belgian midfielder, having already picked up a yellow card minutes earlier, jogged to the touchline and as he attempted to shake his manager’s hand was unceremoniously shoved by Emery.

The Spanish manager was keen to play down the incident after the match, saying: “He [Tielemans] is my son.” The pair reportedly also shared a hug in the tunnel, but nonetheless it left a sour note on what was a hard-earned victory in Turkey.

Emery has been quite animated off late, with this the latest in his touchline antics, having walked off without shaking hands with Mikel Arteta following Villa’s loss to Arsenal earlier this season. The Spaniard is dealing with a lengthy injury list and financial constraints in the transfer market amidst a push for the title as well as the Europa League trophy, and perhaps the pressure is getting to him.

Don’t count Villa out of the title race yet

“We are not contenders to be in the top five. There are other teams with more potential than us,” said Emery after his side’s loss to Everton. Despite a eight-point lead over fifth-placed Manchester United, Emery was all too keen to play down his side’s chances, effectively giving up on the title.

However, the hyper-competitive Premier League season keeps throwing twists and turns. With Arsenal facing a resurgent Man United this weekend, Villa could yet claw the gap to the leaders back to four points after this weekend.

The club’s squad has been stretched thin, but their ability to constantly outperform their xG (Villa are 12th in the xG table) has meant they’ve pulled off crucial results when needed. A trip to St James’ Park is a daunting prospect, but given only Arsenal have a better away record than Villa this year, it would be foolish to count them out.

Newcastle’s home record vs Villa

Newcastle have not lost any of their last 17 home league games against Villa, winning 11 and drawing six of those games. Newcastle have even won all of the last four, scoring 13 goals and conceding only once.

With Yoane Wissa finding form with a goal and assist in his UCL debut, Howe ought to fancy his chances at home. Nick Woltemade might be better suited to start the game, but Wissa’s energetic pressing and penchant for running in behind might favour Newcastle in the latter stages of the game.

The cauldron that is St. James’ Park might miss their chief conductor in Guimarães, but Newcastle have other personnel to hurt Villa after a bruising Europa League encounter.

Villa’s goal-scoring woes

Emery has watched his side fail to score in their last two league games, and even the midweek victory came via a solitary goal from Jadon Sancho. It makes the sale of Villa’s second-highest scorer, Donyell Malen, to AS Roma in the January window all that more confusing, especially when Ollie Watkins has scored only once in the last five games.

Villa seem resigned to using Evann Guessand (who’s scored twice in 1,207 minutes of football this season) as their backup striking option, but the reported availability of Jean-Philippe Mateta has piqued their interest. However, Villa’s financial constraints and PSR rules might see them miss out, as they did with Conor Gallagher, who moved to Tottenham Hotspur.

Newcastle have plenty of injuries in midfield and defence, but given Villa’s paucity of striking options, it might come down to the likes of Morgan Rogers (who’s not scored with his last 15 shots) to make the difference.