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Spanish Striker To Face Villa
Written by Newcastle Utd
Forgotten man Xisco is set to make his first Newcastle appearance for more than a year when the under-21s face Aston Villa
By Dan King - Newcastle United Club Reporter
Spanish striker Xisco is in line to make his first Newcastle appearance since the summer of 2011 in Monday night's Barclays Under-21 Premier League clash against Aston Villa.
The 26-year-old, who spent most of last season on loan with former club Deportivo La Coruna, is included as an overage player in Willie Donachie and Peter Beardsley's second-string squad for the Villa Park fixture (kick-off 7pm).
Summer signing Romain Amalfitano and ex-England under-21 international Dan Gosling are also involved despite being born after 1st January 1991 - up to three overage players are allowed - in a strong Magpies party.
James Tavernier, Mehdi Abeid, Haris Vuckic and Adam Campbell have also played first-team football for Alan Pardew while goalkeeper Jak Alnwick was on the bench for the first-team against Manchester United on Sunday.
Bradden Inman has six goals in five league games at this level while defender Lubo Satka is set to link up with the Slovakia under-19 national team immediately after the match.
United's under-21 side are hoping to return to winning ways after losing 4-2 to Manchester United in their last game. Prior to that, they drew 2-2 with Sunderland and lost 1-0 to Southampton, having started the campaign with a 6-4 win over Tottenham and a 5-1 thrashing of Stoke.
Last season, a vibrant Villa side beat Newcastle 4-0 at Villa Park - but Newcastle gained revenge as they beat them in the final of the Citibank Hong Kong International Soccer Sevens tournament in May.
The squad is: Mehdi Abeid, Jak Alnwick, Romain Amalfitano, Adam Campbell, Dan Gosling, JJ Hooper, Bradden Inman, Marcus Maddison, Brandon Miele, Conor Newton, Michael Riley, Lubo Satka, James Tavernier, Haris Vuckic, Freddie Woodman, Xisco