Duff is back after knee surgery, while Bramble has has calf problems.
Steven Taylor returns from suspension, but Nolberto Solano is banned and will not face his old club.
Newcastle (from): Harper, Srnicek, Carr, Edgar, Taylor, Bramble, Huntington, Butt, Parker, Milner, Duff, Pattison, Troisi, Gate, Martins, Dyer, Sibierski, Luque, Carroll, LuaLua.
Villa (from): Sorensen, Taylor, Bardsley, Hughes, Mellberg, Cahill, Ridgewell, Bouma, Agbonlahor, Petrov, Davis, Osbourne, McCann, Barry, Carew, Young, Angel.
Newcastle United 11/10 Draw 9/4 Aston Villa 2/1LAST TIME VILLA PLAYED AT ST JAMES PARK: Saturday December 3rd 2005
NEWCASTLE UTD 1 ASTON VILLA 1
NEWCASTLE UTD: Given, Ramage, Boumsong, Bramble, Elliott, Solano (Bowyer 87), Faye, Parker, Shearer, Chopra (Luque 81), Ameobi. Subs Not Used: Harper, Clark, Brittain.
ASTON VILLA: Sorensen, Hughes, Mellberg, Ridgewell, Bouma, Hendrie, McCann, Davis (Bakke 61), Barry, Angel (Moore 62), Baros.
Subs Not Used: Samuel, Taylor, De la Cruz.
Att: 52,267
In some respects Gareth Barry handed beleaguered Newcastle boss Graeme Souness a lifeline when he fired an 87th-minute penalty high over the crossbar, but minutes later Toon fans made their feelings felt outside the ground and sang exactly what they think about the manager. Put it this way ... "Souness out!" does not need explaining.
Scott Parker and Amady Faye sat tight in a three-man midfield and set the tone right from the start. Villa perhaps played the more fluent football, but United looked marginally the more dangerous in the final third of the pitch.
However, it was a slice of good fortune which finally earned them the breakthrough. Alan Wiley had no doubts when Parker's shot hit Liam Ridgewell after 32 minutes and immediately awarded a penalty, the fourth the defender had conceded in five matches. Shearer smashed his shot beyond the keeper's dive to open the scoring.
Villa were always in the hunt and they drew level after 75 minutes when, after Hendrie had squared from the left, McCann held off Shola Ameobi to drill a low drive past Given from 20 yards.