Dummett goes into the book for a late challenge on Ayew.
Referee Mason ends the contest. Newcastle earn a point, but are denied a precious victory.
90' +5
DENIED! Townsend fires at goal and gets his effort on target, but Bunn is there to deny the midfielder. It has been one of those days for the Magpies.
90' +4
Westwood brings down Anita 30 yards from goal. A chance for Townsend to act?
90' +2
CHANCE! Newcastle denied by another block as Clark comes up big to deny Wijnaldum. The Villans are definitely living up to their nickname for Newcastle as they have denied them at every opportunity in the second period.
90'
S. de Jong enters the game and replaces J. Colback.
R. Hepburn-Murphy enters the game and replaces S. Sinclair.
De Jong comes on for Newcastle in a last roll of the dice from Benitez.
Sinclair makes way Hepburn-Murphy for the final six minutes.
There will be six minutes of added time.
Sissoko just cannot keep the ball in as he raids down the flank, frustration for the Frenchman.
88'
The game is wide open at the moment as both sides are chasing the winner. Newcastle have to find a goal from somewhere to keep their survival hopes alive going into the final game, pending Sunderland's result against Chelsea.
86'
Hutton lets his side down as he goes for glory from a tight angle when he had time on the right flank, allowing Newcastle to breathe again.
85'
Villa continue to frustrate the Magpies as Ayew wins the ball from Sissoko and raids forward. He tries to get to the edge of the box, but is fouled by Wijnaldum, handing the home side a free-kick in a decent position.
83'
CHANCE! Mitrovic comes close again for the Magpies as he races into the middle to get on the end of Mbemba's pinpoint cross, but he can only guide his effort over the bar. Time is running out for Benitez's men.
81'
CHANCE! Villa fail to clear their lines from a corner and the ball comes back to Perez, who gets the better of Gueye. He tries to fire the ball across the face of goal, but Bunn comes off his line to smother it.
Minute
Description
80'
Sanchez goes down in need of treatment and we can breathe again in this hectic fixture.
78'
Despite the chaos with the beach balls on the pitch Villa are taking the game to Newcastle as Mbemba is forced into action to keep Hutton's dangerous cross away from Sinclair.
76'
Madness here at Villa Park as the supporters begin their protest against the ownership of the club by flooding the pitch with beach balls.
74'
Colback has space down the left and sends the ball into the middle for Mitrovic, but the forward can only guide his header wide of the post. Newcastle have to up the ante here!
72'
UPDATE: Sunderland have taken the lead at the Stadium of Light through Jermain Defoe.
71'
CHANCE! Huge moment for Newcastle as Wijnaldum is denied by Bunn. Townsend created the chance by raiding down the right and cutting the ball back to his team-mate, who fired at goal with power, but the Villa keeper was there with the save.
69'
UPDATE: Sunderland have drawn level with Chelsea again at the Stadium of Light through Fabio Borini.
68'
Ayoze Pérez enters the game and replaces C. Tioté.
Signal of intent from Benitez as he replaces one of his defensive midfielders Tiote for the attacking-minded Perez.
65'
OFFSIDE! Ayew conjures magic for the home side with a weaving run, and he slips a throughball in for Sinclair in the box. The striker shoots first time, but Darlow beats the ball away with two strong hands. It would not have counted anyway, but that was better from Villa.
62'
Another warning for Villa, who have lost their grip of the match over the last 15 minutes. They need to get a hold of the ball like they did in the first half.
60'
CHANCE! Mitrovic misses a huge opportunity as he lifts his effort over Bunn, but his strike lands on the roof of the net. Townsend's free-kick was poor and cleared with ease, but Tiote put the ball back into the box for the run of the forward, who timed his advance. All the Serb had to do was loft the ball over Bunn and into the net, but his execution let him down. Another chance spurned for the visitors.
59'
C. Clark gets yellow.
Sissoko bursts down the right flank and draws a foul from Clark. Townsend stands over the ball waiting to deliver the cross.
Clark goes into the book for the challenge on Sissoko.
56'
Townsend sends a dangerous delivery into the box from the corner and the Villa backline struggle to clear before Bunn gets a fist to the ball before Clark puts his left foot through it.
55'
Lescott's attempted clearance falls at the feet of Townsend down the right and he tries to beat the challenge of Clark, but the defender wins the duel to send the ball behind.
53'
Newcastle immediately go to a direct style of play as Dummett knocks the ball long for Mitrovic. The Serb wins the duel in the air and sends the ball back to the advancing Sissoko. However, the Magpies are unable to break down Villa at the back.
52'
A. Mitrović enters the game and replaces P. Cissé.
The Newcastle supporters have their wish as Mitrovic replaces the underwhelming Cisse.
49'
Villa are trying to regain their composure in the second period. They moved the ball well in the first half without having a clinical edge, but Newcastle seem to be pressing more to try to disrupt their flow.
46'
We're back underway at Villa Park.
CHANCE! Huge chance for Newcastle to take the lead is spurned by Colback. Townsend created the opportunity by driving down the right and sending a low cross into the middle. The ball fell kindly for the midfielder, but he could only blast his strike over the bar from close range.
45' +1
Referee Lee Mason brings an end to the first half at Villa Park.
45'
There will be one minute of added time.
44'
Newcastle have not been at it in the first period and their lethargy even affects Townsend down the right as he takes the ball out of touch. Benitez will need a word with his players at the break as this has not been good enough for a team embroiled in a relegation battle.
42'
Black's men are dominating possession, but are struggling for the quality needed to break down the visitors. Lascelles and Mbemba have been disciplined in the middle of the defence and are giving Ayew and Sinclair no room to operate.
40'
UPDATE: Sunderland haven equalised against Chelsea through Wahbi Khazri.
39'
Villa clear the danger, but the visitors come again through Townsend down the right and he digs out a cross into the middle. However, Cisse is not alert to the cross and Bunn comes off his line to gather.
38'
Clark gets penalised for a foul on Sissoko, handing the Magpies a free-kick just inside the Villa half.
36'
Newcastle break and Sissoko sends the ball over to the right for Anita. The Dutchman sends the ball into the middle for Cisse to fire at goal, but the striker can only direct his effort straight at Bunn.
35'
The home side work the bal well again on the edge of the box, but when space opens up for Sinclair to shoot he opts to pass back to Hutton. Not going to get anywhere sending the ball backwards.
32'
Villa are dominating possession, but have shown no signs of threatening the Newcastle goal. The Magpies seem quite content to sit back and hit the home side on the counter using the pace of Townsend.
30'
Hutton is allowed to drive down the flank and send a cross into the middle. Again the delivery is poor and Darlow can claim with relative ease.
29'
Commitment from the Villa supporters as they have not stopped their jeers of Lescott and Bacuna 29 minutes into the match.
28'
Villa work the ball well on the edge of the box with several passes before it goes out wide to Toner. The left-back tries to send a cross into the middle, but his delivery is poor and goes over the bar.
25'
Wijnaldum lifts the ball into the box aiming for Lascelles, but his free-kick has too much power and travels behind for a goal-kick. The game needs an injection of quality from somewhere.
24'
Sanchez makes an error down the right and gives away a free-kick by bringing down Wijnaldum. Clumsy defending from the midfielder.
23'
CHANCE! Cisse is played behind the Villa defence through an incisive pass from Anita. The striker tries to shoot first time, but scuffs his effort across goal, allowing Bunn to gather.
22'
Villa work the ball out of the left corner and break forward through Westwood. The midfielder tries to slide a throughball for the run of Sinclair in the inside right channel, but Dummett makes a good interception to kill the attack.
20'
Toner comes in with two strong challenges to dispossess Anita on the right. Good intent from the young defender, which should inspire some of his team-mates.
18'
A poor clearance from Bacuna allows Newcastle to raid forward through Townsend and he releases the ball to Sissoko, but Cisse cannot read the cross and it travels to the left flank. Colback tries to keep the attack alive, but the home side get back in numbers and hold the Magpies.
16'
Dummett is allowed to raid down the left and he sends a deep cross to the back post, but there are no black and white shirts there to collect. Newcastle are lacking a clinical edge in the final third at the moment.
14'
UPDATE: Chelsea have taken the lead against Sunderland through Diego Costa.
13'
Even start to the match as both teams have enjoyed decent spells with the ball, but neither have been able to conjure quality with it as of yet.
11'
Townsend causes Toner problems down the right as he just keeps the ball in play. He whips a dangerous cross to the back post for the run of Wijnaldum, but the Dutchman's effort hits Hutton and goes behind for a corner.
9'
Newcastle are starting to knock the ball around the middle of the park as Villa drop off towards the half-way line. The Magpies' players will be well aware of their poor record on the road, they cannot afford to have a poor performance today.
6'
The Villa fans are intent on enjoying themselves this afternoon despite the plight of their team. The fans are throwing beach balls on to the pitch. Hopefully we won't have another beach ball goal for Benitez to endure ala Darren Bent in 2009.
4'
Villa have gone with four at the back, but Toner has gone to left-back while Bacuna is operating at right-back with Hutton ahead of him on the wing.
Hutton feeds the run of Clark through the middle and the centre-back brings the ball forward to drive an effort at goal. However, his strike goes well wide of the post.
3'
Boos echo around Villa Park when Lescott and Bacuna touch the ball. Not popular players with the home fans apparently.
2'
Composed start to the game from the home side as they have taken charge in the middle of the park with short passes around the centre circle.
1'
Villa get us underway in this crucial fixture.
Good afternoon and welcome to the live commentary of the Premier League clash between Aston Villa and Newcastle United.
Newcastle's quest to avoid the drop continues at Villa Park this afternoon. Rafael Benitez's men moved out of the relegation zone last week following their triumph over Crystal Palace last week and as a result moved one point clear of rivals Sunderland. The Magpies know that their two rivals at the bottom have a game in hand over them during the week, making it crucial for them to maximise their opportunities this afternoon to potentially move four points clear.
The club have shown a remarkable improvement over the past four matches, taking eight points from a possible 12. Andros Townsend has become the key player for Benitez, notching crucial strikes against Palace and Swansea City, while providing a constant threat from the wing. Papiss Cisse has struggled for goals this season, but has offered craft in the final third in recent weeks, allowing Aleksandar Mitrovic to thrive off the bench. The most crucial element of Newcastle's resurgence has come at the back where Jamaal Lascelles and Chancel Mbemba have been solid, albeit a rare lapse in the first half against Liverpool. The duo can't let their hard work slip today against a poor Villa outfit.
The less said about Villa's season the better! They've been woeful throughout the campaign, although they did show signs of life against Watford last week, only to lose the match 3-2 in the dying seconds of the contest. It summed up their season and their fans deserve so much better then what they have seen from the stands this term. There was a protest against owner Randy Lerner earlier today, and hopefully for the sake of the club they can resolve their issues over the summer ahead of a crucial campaign in the Championship next season.
Today Eric Black has to motivate his team to do their utmost to thwart the Magpies. Villa were the club that sent Newcastle down when the North-East outfit were last relegated from the Premier League in 2009. They could do the same with a strong performance this afternoon.
The teams have been announced and we'll start with the home side.
Aston Villa (4-4-2): Bunn; Clark, Lescott, Toner Hutton; Westwood, Sanchez, Gana, Bacuna; Ayew, Sinclair.
Aston Villa subs: Guzan, Richards, Adama, Gil, Hepburn-Murphy, Lyden, Grealish.
Newcastle subs: De Jong, Shelvey, Perez, Janmaat, Taylor, Woodman, Mitrovic.
Villa have made two changes from their defeat to Watford last week. Scott Sinclair and Carlos Sanchez come into the side to replace Rudy Gestede and Aly Cissokho, who misses the match through suspension. Black has two options in his formation with either three at the back with Joleon Lescott, Ciaran Clark and Kevin Toner. Or decide to play four with Alan Hutton at right-back and Clark drifting out to left-back. Sinclair will lead the line with Jordan Ayew in support, while Ashley Westwood will look to continue his decent form in front of goal following his brace in his side's defeat to Southampton two weeks ago.
Benitez has opted for a unchanged team from the eleven that defeated Crystal Palace last week. Cisse continues to lead the line with Georginio Wijnaldum, Moussa Sissoko and Townsend in close support behind. Cheick Tiote and Jack Colback anchor the midfielder ahead of Lascelles and Mbemab at centre-back. Daryl Janmaat is fit enough to return to the bench, but the form of Vurnon Anita keeps the Dutchman out of the starting line-up, while Karl Darlow will look to continue his heroics from last week as he denied Yohan Cabaye from the penalty spot.
Newcastle will be boosted by the knowledge that Norwich have been defeated 1-0 this afternoon by Manchester United. Their quest to remain in the division looks to be futile heading into the final week of the campaign, leaving a potential shootout between the Magpies and Sunderland to remain in the Premier League.
The players are out on the pitch so we should be underway shortly.
HALF-TIME: Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle
Despite their lacklustre efforts in the first half Newcastle are boosted right on half-time as Sunderland have gone behind again through Nemanja Matic. The Magpies have been poor in the first period, dominated by a Villa side who have lost their last 11 matches on the spin in the Premier League. However, they have been resilient at the back to hold off the home side's attempts to take the lead. Benitez needs to find a spark from somewhere, possibly from the bench with Mitrovic replacing Cisse, who has been ineffectual.
The players are back out for the second half, so we should be underway shortly.
FULL-TIME: Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle
Newcastle earn a point in their battle against the drop, but the news from the Stadium of Light is not good for the Magpies. Sunderland have beaten Chelsea 3-2 and as a result move out of the bottom three. The Black Cats can relegate Newcastle and Norwich on Wednesday if they beat Everton. Rafael Benitez and his men will be hugely deflated by their efforts today. They lacked the clinical edge in front of goal as Jack Colback and Aleksandar Mitrovic both missed sitters, which could mean that the club are playing Championship football next season. Villa did their part today, they were decent with the ball and did their defensive duties manfully, if not for a couple of let-offs from the Newcastle duo. The protests rage on at the club as supporters threw beach balls and paraded banners around the stadium, but hopefully they will be able to end their campaign in the Premier League with a small bit of pride.
Thanks for joining our commentary today. Until next time, goodbye.
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