Bruno Guimaraes: Why can’t Newcastle win without the Brazilian?

That wait continues, but defeat should not be a foregone conclusion – even if Aston Villa are hovering in third place.

Newcastle beat PSV Eindhoven 3-0 in the Champions League in midweek.

They have not lost at home in the Premier League since the end of September, and have scored at least two goals in each of their previous eight Premier League matches at St James’ Stadium.

The hosts were facing an Aston Villa side that arrived from Istanbul in the early hours of Friday morning after their Europa League match against Fenerbahce.

Howe’s men certainly had their chances to strike.

The game didn’t get off to a long start when Sandro Tonali dribbled past three Aston Villa players but was blocked by goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, while fellow midfielder Luis Miley saw his header go wide as his side looked for an equaliser.

Howe praised the pair for having “good matches”, and in the afternoon they also lost another Brazilian, Joelinton, to a thigh injury.

But the Newcastle coach expressed his deep regret at the absence of another midfielder after the match.

“It doesn’t have to be easy on them,” he said. “I think we missed Bruno’s forward-thinking.

“He always wants to pass forward and is always looking for the creative pass. You can see we missed that today.

“He always wants the ball and always demands the ball from his teammates. They have tremendous qualities, and then there is his spirit and attitude that never dies.”

There were countless examples.

When Newcastle were 3-2 down to Leeds United in the 90th minute earlier this month, Guimarães scored a late penalty to equalize for his side before they went on to somehow win the game.

When the result was goalless in matches against Crystal Palace, Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest, the 28-year-old opened the scoring.

Guimarães even featured with a late goal against Fulham last October.

However, Newcastle never looked capable of producing a similar moment as Sunday’s game wore on, with strikers Yoan Wissa and Nick Woltemade only getting a measly shot between them.

The hosts lacked the ability to unlock a stubborn defense again in the second half – just a week after they failed to find the back of the net against bottom of the table Wolves.

It is worth noting that Guimarães was in the side that afternoon.

“There’s no reason for me to think we need another type of player at this moment because that’s not going to happen,” Howe said.

“The next chance we have to change the team will be in the summer. It’s about getting the best out of the players we have.”