Newcastle United vs Villarreal

St James’ Park plays host to an intriguing friendly meeting between Newcastle United and Villarreal.

With the 2023/24 Premier League campaign around the corner, Newcastle United’s flawless pre-season is in full swing (W3, D3), suggesting last season’s impressive top-four finish wasn’t a fluke. Goals on either side of halftime helped Eddie Howe’s high-flyers see off beaten Europa Conference League finalists Fiorentina 2-0 in yesterday’s friendly, marking Newcastle’s second win in a row after back-to-back scoring draws. That was also their first clean sheet in seven matches. But the result deviated from the pattern that had seen four of their five opening pre-season fixtures produce over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet. At least, it helped the ‘Magpies’ take their unbeaten run at St James’ Park to three games (W2, D1), two of which yielded a shutout.

Meanwhile, Villarreal’s gut-wrenching fifth-place La Liga finish last season seems to have dampened the spirits in the province of Castellon, as witnessed by the Spaniards’ dreadful off-season results. Except for a 3-0 thumping of Austrian minnows Altach in early summer preparations, QuiqueSetien’s men have gone winless in their remaining five exhibition matches (D2, L3), including yesterday’s 1-1 draw against Nice. The loss of standout forwards Samuel Chukwueze and Nicolas Jackson has seemingly crippled Setien’s attacking set-up, with Villarreal netting under 1.5 goals in all five winless pre-season outings. But what’s perhaps even more concerning is that ‘El Submarino Amarillo’ haven’t kept a clean sheet in seven of their last eight games, a run that stretches back to late May.