Newcastle United will be looking for their third consecutive Premier League victory when they host Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Magpies can continue the momentum that has carried them out of the bottom three following wins against Leeds United and Everton.
Opponents Villa, meanwhile, are also on a decent run of form themselves, and will be hoping to stretch their unbeaten run to four matches.
Steven Gerrard’s side’s victory at Everton came either side of home draws against Manchester United and Leeds United and they could move into the top half of the table with a win in the Northeast this weekend.
FiveThirtyEight, a website that gives data-driven predictions for matches, believes Newcastle are slight underdogs at St. James’ Park, with a 35% chance of winning, in comparison to Aston Villa’s 39%.
Pundits from across the media have given their views on the upcoming fixture and Chronicle Live have rounded them up for you.
Mark Lawrenson – BBC Sport
BBC Sport’s Mark Lawrenson is predicting a tight game on Sunday with both sides earning a share of the spoils.
He said: “There have been plenty of positives for both teams in the past couple of weeks and this has the making of a really good game. It's certainly a hard one to call.
“Philippe Coutinho has been fabulous since joining Aston Villa last month and Newcastle will do well to keep him quiet, as well as Jacob Ramsey, who looks like he is going to be quite a player.
“Newcastle got a huge win over Everton on Tuesday, and you could see what it meant to everyone at St James' Park. Now they have to try to maintain some of that momentum.”
Prediction: Newcastle 1-1 Aston Villa
Michael Owen – Bet Victor
In his latest Bet Victor column, Michael Owen is also expecting a close affair.
He said: “That was a huge win for Newcastle against Everton. The fans were brilliant and all of a sudden, there’s a bit of optimism about the place. Kieran Trippier has been a standout since he joined, and he was superb again. He could prove to be one of the signings of the season.
“Speaking of signings of the season, Philippe Coutinho is looking like the man who starred for Liverpool. His linkup with Jacob Ramsey has been evident since his first game, and those two shone against Leeds. Ramsay continues to catch the eye. He took his goals brilliantly, but it was his movement for the goals which really impressed me.
“This should be a good game and I can see both sides scoring.”
Prediction: Newcastle 1-1 Aston Villa
Paul Merson – Sports Keeda
And to make it a full house, Paul Merson has too predicted both sides to earn a point in his weekly Sports Keeda column.
He said: “If it wasn’t for Allan Saint-Maximin, Newcastle weren’t winning their game against Everton. He was outstanding on the day, and they’re going to go on the attack here. If Newcastle win this game, they’d be taking a massive step towards getting out of trouble. I think they need to get their points now and make hay while the sun shines.
“Philippe Coutinho was very good against Leeds. If you can have players like Jacob Ramsey making runs around him, Coutinho will find them. Coutinho will probably get Ramsey into the England squad.
“Both teams have a go in their Premier League games, and neither team is defensively very good. We saw that with Aston Villa the other night. I think there’ll be a lot of goals in this match.”
Prediction: Newcastle 2-2 Aston Villa
