Newcastle United will look to continue their recent resurgence when they host bottom-of-the-table Aston Villa at St James' Park on Saturday.
Ten points now separate the two teams in the standings as Remi Garde goes in search of his first win in charge of Villa at the sixth attempt.
Newcastle
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This time two weeks ago, Newcastle fans would have been looking at this game as a potential make-or-break relegation six-pointer.
Not many would have backed them to get anything from consecutive games against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, but instead the Magpies picked up maximum points from those two encounters to breathe new life into their survival hopes.
It has certainly made for a positive December so far, but the work is far from done for Steve McClaren. They remain only two points clear of danger and still have the joint-worst defensive record in the division, despite only conceding once in their back-to-back wins.
That goal came last Sunday when Spurs, unbeaten since the opening day of the season going into that match at White Hart Lane, took the lead before Newcastle fought back and stole a dramatic late winner through Ayoze Perez.
That gave Newcastle back-to-back wins for the first time in 2015, and they will go into this weekend's match as firm favourites to make it three on the bounce having lost just one of their last five home games.
Only four teams in the entire league have scored more goals in front of their own fans this term, with seven of their 13 strikes at St James' Park coming from Georginio Wijnaldum - only Jamie Vardy has more home goals this season.
Newcastle are yet to win consecutive home league games this calendar year, but should that record come to an end this weekend then Christmas will be a lot more comfortable for McClaren and co.
Recent form: DWLLWW
Aston Villa
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Aston Villa fans won't need telling that clubs who are bottom at Christmas do not have a good record when it comes to climbing out of the bottom three by May.
Things look bleaker for Villa this year than most clubs to have suffered that fate too, with eights points now separating them from safety and Derby County's unenviable record of the lowest ever Premier League points tally potentially under threat.
Villa have amassed a meagre six points so far as they approach the halfway stage of the campaign - exactly the same number as Derby had after 16 games of the 2007-08 season, when they went on to pick up just 11 points.
It all started fairly well with victory over Bournemouth on the opening day of the season, but the Villans are winless in their 15 games since, picking up three points from a possible 45 in that time.
It is already the worst run in the club's 127-year history, and Garde has so far been unable to facilitate a turnaround since his arrival. He has seen his side pick up respectable draws against Manchester City and Southampton, but the odd point here and there will not be enough to prevent them from losing their status as a Premier League ever-present.
There was improvement during the second half of the 2-0 defeat to Arsenal last time out, but the first-half display was not that of a team who believe they can drag themselves away from danger anytime soon.
Villa have actually picked up twice as many points away as they have at home this season, but still no team has accrued fewer on the road. A 1-1 draw at Southampton at the start of December ended a six-match losing streak on their travels.
A failure to improve that record in the coming weeks could see Villa all but consigned to relegation as early as January. They do not face a team currently outside the bottom eight away from home again until February, with Norwich City, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion lying in wait after the trip to Newcastle.
It is imperative that they get a good points haul from those matches, starting this weekend, where defeat could leave them as many as nine points adrift of the next worst side in the league.
Recent form: LDLLDL
Team News
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Villa could once again be without captain Micah Richards due to a knee injury, although the defender is set to undergo a late fitness test.
Another defender, Aly Cissokho, has been recalled from his loan spell with Porto but is not eligible to play until January, while Jordan Amavi and Gary Gardner remain sidelined.
Garde must also make a decision on Jack Grealish, who returned to the fold off the bench against Arsenal having been dropped for two matches due to off-the-pitch indiscretions.
Newcastle's injury list is among the longest in the league, but there are no new worries for McClaren. An unchanged side is a possibility, but Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ayoze Perez will both be pushing for starts having scored against Spurs.
Rolando Aarons, Cheick Tiote and Jamaal Lascelles are all nearing returns, although McClaren is unlikely to throw any of them in from the start in this match.
Newcastle possible starting lineup:
Elliot; Janmaat, Mbemba, Coloccini, Dummett; Sissoko, Anita, Colback, Wijnaldum; Perez; Mitrovic
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Guzan; Hutton, Okore, Lescott, Bacuna; Veretout, Sanchez, Gueye; Grealish, Gestede, Ayew
Head To Head
St James' Park has not been the happiest hunting ground for Aston Villa in recent years. They have failed to win on any of their last nine visits in the Premier League, losing six of those, with their most recent victory coming in April 2005 when Newcastle finished the game with eight men.
Indeed, home and away the Villans have struggled against the Magpies, winning none of the last eight league meetings and failing to even score in the most recent three.
There was just one goal in the two meetings last season, with Papiss Cisse getting the winner at St James' Park in February and the reverse ending goalless.
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Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:
We say: Newcastle 2-0 Aston Villa
It is hard to see Villa picking up a victory from anywhere at the moment. They would have earmarked this game as one of their better chances to do so, but Newcastle's recent upturn in form means that the visitors will be big underdogs once again. With a lack of firepower - no team has scored fewer in the league this season - and just one clean sheet since the opening day, everything points to another Villa defeat here.
Barney Corkhill
