Premier League preview: Aston Villa v Newcastle

Aston Villa and Newcastle will both be looking to maintain their unbeaten starts to the season when they go head-to-head on Saturday.

Neither side has lost so far in the English Premier League this campaign, with Newcastle flying high in fourth after two wins and two draws, and Villa sitting eighth with one win and three draws.

Newcastle’s excellent start to the season has flown in the face of many pundits predictions, with Alan Pardew’s side expected to struggle after losing a number of key players.

Andy Carroll, Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and Jose Enrique all left St James’ Park in the last year, but replacements Yohan Cabaye, Demba Ba and Gabriel Obertan have proved more than effective.

Newcastle would have been pleased to keep a clean sheet in their 0-0 draw against newly promoted Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road on Monday, and were perhaps unlucky not to come away with three points after Leon Best had a low effort well saved by Paddy Kenny.

Republic of Ireland striker Best is Newcastle’s leading scorer this season after scoring a brace in their 2-1 win over Fulham, and containing him will no doubt be at the front of Alex McLeish’s mind.

The Scottish manager has enjoyed an impressive start to his tenure at Villa Park after his controversial appointment following Gerard Houllier departure.

McLeish has employed a potent mixture of youth and experience in his side this season, with veterans Shay Given, Emile Heskey and Richard Dunne complementing fresh faces like Barry Bannan, Marc Albrighton and Chris Herd.

Villa will have to do without Heskey for the next few weeks however, with the 33-year-old straining his hamstring during last week’s 2-2 draw with Everton.

“Emile’s got a nick in his hamstring and that’s not an overnight job, so it will be a few weeks – two to three, maybe even longer,” McLeish told the club’s official website. “Whether he’s a quick healer, I don’t know his history.”

“We could ill afford to lose vital members from the squad but it’s a challenge for somebody else.”

“The challenge is for players who might come in just to say ‘well I’m going to make it hard for Emile to get back into the team’.”

McLeish has ample cover up front though, with Darren Bent expected to partner Gabriel Agbonlahor in attack.

Newcastle will still be without signing Mehdi Abeid as he continues his recovery from a knee injury, while Hatem Ben Arfa is also inching closer to his comeback from a broken leg which he sustained in October.