Confirmed Newcastle side to take on Aston Villa

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Steve Bruce will be looking to build on Newcastle United’s excellent 3-0 win over Sheffield United on Sunday with back-to-back wins as the Toon take on Aston Villa – and he has named an unchanged starting line-up.

The Toon come into their second clash since the restart in good spirits having opened up an 11-point gap between themselves and the drop zone – sitting in a comfortable 13th place. They are two away from the magic 40-point mark.

Bruce fielded a strong side on Sunday, which saw the Toon use a four-man defence instead of the five defenders across the back that was a fixture of Rafa Benitez’s reign. It saw Fabian Schar benched against the Blades.

Bruce stated that Matty Longstaff – who has agreed a deal until the end of the season but is yet to sign a new contract beyond then – only returned to training on Monday. His brother Sean, is also sidelined for the clash.

Defenders Ciaran Clark and Florian Lejeune are also sidelined through injury, with the latter enduring a torrid time with problems since his move to St. James’ Park under Benitez.

Goalscorers Matt Ritchie, Joelinton and Allan Saint-Maximin all start after netting against Sheffield United – with Bruce naming the same side. January signings Nabil Bentaleb and Valentino Lazaro miss out.

Martin Dubravka; Javi Manquillo, Jamaal Lascelles, Federico Fernandez, Danny Rose; Matt Ritchie, Jonjo Shelvey, Isaac Hayden, Allan Saint-Maximin; Miguel Almiron, Joelinton.