Aston Villa vs Newcastle United: TV channel in UK, kick-off time, live stream, referee, injury and team news

Aston Villa host Newcastle United in the fourth round of the FA Cup, with both sides looking to put a cup run together after bowing out of the Carabao Cup this season.

Unai Emery’s side come into this game in good spirits after a 1-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion that saw them edge closer to Premier League leaders Arsenal. Eddie Howe’s men also pulled off a 2-1 win away to Tottenham Hotspur in midweek, which saw Thomas Frank sacked.

Newcastle have won three of their last six against Villa, who have won twice themselves, but what this fixture guarantees is goals — with 20 goals scored in the last six games.

Here’s everything you need to know about the match:

How to watch

The match will be broadcast on Saturday on BBC 1 and TNT Sports 3 in the UK, ESPN in the U.S., SonyLIV in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN’s live updates.

Key Details

Kick-off time: Saturday, Feb. 14 at 5:45 p.m. GMT (12:45 p.m. ET; 11:15 p.m. IST and 4.45 a.m. AEDT, Sunday)

Venue: Villa Park, Birmingham

Referee: Christopher Kavanagh

VAR: N/A

Team news

Aston Villa: Bizot, Bogarde, Lindelof, Torres, Digne, Luiz, Onana, Rogers, Barkley, Bailey, Abraham.

Subs: Martinez, Konsa, Mings, Watkins, Garcia, Buendia, Sancho, Maatsen, Kone

Newcastle United: Ramsdale, Trippier, Thiaw, Burn, Hall, Tonali, Ramsey, Murphy, Woltemade, Barnes, Osula.

Subs: Pope, Ruddy, Gordon, Elanga, Willock, A.Murphy, Shahar, Seung-soo, Neave.

Talking Points

Will Newcastle miss Guimarães again?

Newcastle ended a run of three consecutive defeats and five games without a win when they beat Tottenham in midweek action. A large part of their resurgence was the presence of Bruno Guimarães on the pitch, as it was when they made a brief comeback in the game against Brentford.

However, any happiness Howe gleaned from the victory was tempered by Guimarães limping off with an apparent thigh or hamstring issue in injury time against Spurs.

It’s a scenario that’s further compounded by the injury to Lewis Miley, with Howe’s midfield options now limited. Guimarães’ ability to move Newcastle up the pitch while also providing physical dominance in midfield will be sorely missed against Villa, and Howe will be hoping for a miracle regarding his availability, because without him, an FA Cup exit looms.

How much should Villa prioritize the FA Cup?

With Unai Emery’s side drawing close to Arsenal in the title race, Villa might be tempted to not place much of a focus on the FA Cup, especially with an UEFA Europa League knockout fixture to come. Yet, the truth is that both Manchester City and Arsenal are unlikely to stumble, and Villa’s European ambitions might tke a hit amidst fixture congestion.

Going deep in the FA Cup would only exacerbate that fixture congestion, and Villa fans might be wondering which competition Emery might prioritise. Prioritise he must, since the club are already dealing with a minor injury crisis in midfield and a lack of rotation could worsen the situation.

Yet, Emery’s side only need look at Newcastle for how much a cup victory can galvanise a club. Villa’s last real trophy came in the 1996 League Cup, and they cannot turn their nose up at putting their best foot forward in the FA Cup.

Can Howe repeat cup heroics of last year with misfiring forwards?

Howe wrote his name into Newcastle folklore after ending a 56-year wait for a major trophy by winning last season’s Carabao Cup. The club have become cup specialists of late, and a semifinal run in this year’s League Cup is quietly impressive. Newcastle aren’t serious contenders for the UEFA Champions League, despite their impressive displays in the competition, and they are currently tenth in the Premier League.

The FA Cup represents the best route for silverware as well as European qualification for the club, and while they have missed Alexander Isak‘s clutch finishing this season, they still possess the skills to make it awkward for the usual winners. Not since the 1954-55 season have Newcastle lifted the FA Cup, and with Howe’s ability to thrive in one-off games, Newcastle ought to put their focus on this competition.

He will need his forwards like Yoane Wissa, Anthony Gordon and Nick Woltemade to start firing soon if Newcastle are to start winning, as the trio have only scored one goal amidst themselves in the club’s last six games.

Villa have a template from their previous win

Unai Emery has mastered the art of baffling analysts the world over with his brand of low xG, high success football, and that was the case against Newcastle in their previous meeting at St. James’ Park in late January. Villa managed a 2-0 victory that came from a losing xG scoreline of 1.16 to Newcastle’s 2.18.

It’s not even a surprise at this point — Villa’s squad possess the ability to score heaps of wondergoals and the xG regression to the mean hasn’t materialized. The potential absence of Guimarães and Miley further strengthens Villa’s hand, as Emery could pack his midfield and look to hit on the break, like he did in the 2-0 win.

Newcastle’s bluntness upfront might also afford Villa more room to manouver as they can cover off the visitor’s late runs from midfield, which has been Howe’s go-to strategy of late.

Will rotation play a part?

One look at Newcastle’s fixture list and it’s clear that Howe will have to rotate — the club have meandered through a run of seven away games from eight, with three to go. However, they follow this trip to Villa Park with the longest trip in the UEFA Champions League — to Baku, Azerbaijan where they take on Qarabag FK.

The dilemma for Howe is when to rotate — do so heavily against Villa and he risks a cup exit, while playing a weakened side in Baku might risk the two-legged tie and progression in the Champions League. Howe could perhaps bite the bullet and play his reserves in the trip to the Etihad following the game against Qarabag, but that risks falling further down in the league and amplifying the voices calling for his sack.

While his midfield options may be limited, Howe called the likes of Sandro Tonali, Jacob Murphy, Woltemade, Lewis Hall and William Osula of the bench against Spurs, which means he can name a strong side.

Emery could similarly call upon Tammy Abraham, Alysson, Leon Bailey, Pau Torres and Victor Lindelöf — which ought to mean this will be a closely fought contest.