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| Leon Best scored for Newcastle at Villa Park in September |
The Magpies do not occupy a false position, as many critics would have you believe, but it is one that is surprising given the standard of their performances in recent weeks.
The primary reason for Newcastle's dip in performance has been their inability to defend against teams that possess pacy attacking players. Both West Brom and Fulham have brutally exposed this deficiency in recent times.
This Sunday Newcastle welcome former players Shay Given and Charles N'Zogbia to St James' Park, as Pardew and his charges get set to take on Aston Villa. Villa are a side blessed with a plethora of fleet footed attackers, and although Alex McLeish's side have disappointed this season, the Newcastle backline will still need to be on their guard if they are to come away from the contest with maximum points.
Newcastle head into the game on the back of a 2-0 success at Blackburn Rovers in midweek. It was another below par display from Pardew's side and Blackburn dominated for large periods. Still Newcastle showcased the resiliency that has defined their campaign and it proved to be enough to snatch victory.
Villa endured an eventful Wednesday night as they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Queens Park Rangers at Villa Park.
A key moment in Newcastle's triumph was Pardew's decision to sacrifice Hatem Ben Arfa for James Perch and revert to a 4-4-2 formation from the controversial 4-2-3-1, a system that had been in place to accommodate the sizeable talent of Ben Arfa.
The enigmatic former Marseille man failed to make a significant impression on the game, and the switch - which was made just after the Half Time interval - enabled Newcastle to repel attacks more comfortably than they had done in the 1st half as Perch produced an impressive shift in central midfield.
I have discussed the pros and cons of the 4-2-3-1 in a previous entry, and it is my view that Pardew must now stick with the 4-4-2 if are Newcastle are to continue to win matches on a regular basis. The formation aids defensive balance and is also an effective attacking system, provided that the strikers selected are of sufficient quality.
Newcastle do have strikers of great quality, Demba Ba and new signing Papiss Cisse are both set to be involved after returning from the African Cup of Nations, although the latter is likely to start from the bench.
Yohan Cabaye is still suspended following his three match ban for his involvement in an incident with Brighton's Adam El-Abd, and this leaves Pardew with a decision to make in central midfield. Ryan Taylor and James Perch - despite recent good displays at the position - are both makeshift options in that area of the field. Sunday's clash is set to be a high powered contest, and therefore I believe that Newcastle will be better served by a more athletic presence, such as 19-year-old Mehdi Abeid, in the middle of park.
Only the fine reflexes of Given kept Newcastle from taking all three points from Villa Park the last time the sides met back in September. It was an enthralling contest which Newcastle bossed following Leon Best's 2nd half leveller, which came after Gabriel Agbonlahor had pounced on a defensive lapse to give Villa the lead.
Fans will anticipate another free flowing and exciting game on Sunday, both teams boast dynamic options and therefore defence will be important than ever in determining who emerges victorious.
Preferred Lineup
I don't usually do this, but below is my preferred Newcastle lineup for Sunday's game with Aston Villa:
4-4-2
GK Krul
RB Simpson
CB Williamson
CB Coloccini
LB Santon
RM Ben Arfa
CM Abeid
CM Guthrie
LM Gutierrez
ST Best
ST Ba
Substitutes: Elliot; R.Taylor; Perch; Obertan; Gosling; Ameobi; Cisse
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