Newcastle Club Focus – Solid Magpies look to threaten in trip to Villa
Unbeaten Newcastle United will look to extend their good start to the season when they face Aston Villa on Saturday. A goalless draw against QPR saw the Magpies move into the top four despite a tricky run of fixtures. Defence has been the key so far this season, with only one goal conceded in four league games so far. Central defenders Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini have stood out in particular with the former being touted for a call-up to the England squad. They will face another stern test at Villa Park against a side who have made a steady start to the new campaign.
Any hopes that Davide Santon could make his first senior start for the club have been dashed after he limped out of training on Thursday. The Italian has undergone a scan on his knee to detect whether there has been any significant damage. If the former Inter Milan player is ruled out for a number of weeks it will be a significant blow for manager Alan Pardew. Santon came through a reserve game unscathed in midweek as he looked to build up his match fitness. This means United’s back four should be unchanged once again.
While defensively Newcastle have been sound, at the opposite end of the pitch goals have been hard to come by. The team rarely looked liked scoring against QPR, with Leon Best providing the main attacking threat. Pardew may decide to return to Demba Ba against Villa in a bid to solve the problem. However, captain Fabricio Coloccini believes that it is not a major issue at the club. Speaking to the Northern Echo newspaper he said: "I do not have any worries about our attacking. I know we have a side that is capable of creating chances and scoring goals and you will see that in the next few games. It was difficult on Monday because I thought QPR played a very good game and prevented us from creating too many chances. They pressured the ball very well.”
One player who could give Newcastle some greater attacking verve currently remains sidelined through injury. The mercurial Hatem Ben Arfa has been out since pre-season but is nearing a return from his ankle problem. His manager is in no rush to hurry his return given the Frenchman’s injury record since joining at the start of last season. He will play no part against Aston Villa but may feature in next week’s Carling Cup clash at Nottingham Forest. Another player who could bring more of a goal threat to the team is youngster Dan Gosling. He scored twice for the reserve team this week in their 6-0 hammering of their Norwich City counterparts. So far his only start has come against Scunthorpe in the cup, although he has established a reputation for coming up with goals throughout his short career.
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