Aston Villa vs Newcastle United

Saturday’s Premier League action gets underway at Villa Park as high-flying Aston Villa and top-four hopefuls Newcastle United go head-to-head in a mouth-watering fixture.

Last weekend’s comfortable 2-0 home triumph over Nottingham Forest saw Aston Villa hit an impressive milestone, winning four consecutive matches in the Premier League for the first time in 25 years! After moving to sixth in the standings, the ‘Lions’ are seeking a first European finish since 2010, with fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur only six points away. Since Unai Emery’s appointment as Aston Villa’s head coach in November, only Arsenal have earned more points (42) and victories (13) than the ‘Villans’ (35 points, 11 wins) in the Premier League. Moreover, they’ve found the net in all 17 Premier League outings under the Spanish manager, netting an average of 1.76 goals per match.

In the meantime, visiting Newcastle United came from behind to beat Brentford 2-1 on the road and consolidate their top-four pursuit on the back of a fifth successive Premier League victory. The ‘Magpies’ start this round three points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham with a game in hand, and they’ll be looking to win four straight Premier League games away from home for the first time since 1996. However, since Villa’s top-flight promotion in 2019, Eddie Howe’s men have lost all three Premier League H2Hs in Birmingham by an identical 2-0 scoreline. Against this backdrop, Newcastle thumped Villa 4-0 in the reverse fixture at St James’ Park and could complete their first league double over them since 2013/14.