Eddie Howe will certainly need a settled Jacob Ramsey after influential captain Bruno Guimaraes was sidelined for two months with a hamstring injury.
Newcastle have lost plenty of matches with Guimaraes in the team, but Howe's men have tellingly failed to win any of the 10 league games the Brazilian has missed since his debut in 2022.
Yet Newcastle found a way to beat top-flight opponents in the FA Cup at Villa Park without their talisman last week.
It was a night fellow midfielder Sandro Tonali scored twice in a 3-1 victory as the visitors came from behind against 10 men and channelled their frustrations following some dubious refereeing decisions.
Howe said afterwards that he "always believed there was a way without someone" as he called on his players to continue to "step up" in Guimaraes' absence.
Ramsey will have been among those at the forefront of the manager's mind.
Howe had already made it clear to Ramsey that he needed to increase his numbers - even when Guimaraes was fit - and the summer signing responded with his first goal for the club in the 2-1 victory at Tottenham last week.
The emotion came pouring out of Ramsey as he roared in front of the away end after netting what proved to be the winner just a few days before his return to Villa.
Even team-mate Anthony Elanga "celebrated like I had scored".
"Everyone was so happy for him because he's just that type of guy who brings the energy into the team," Elanga said.
"He thoroughly deserved that. His performances over the last few weeks have been outstanding.
"He held his own against Paris St-Germain and did really well. From there, he just seems to have continued to kick on."
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