Welcome to the Newcastle vs Aston Villa preview.
Sunday, January 25, starting at 2 p.m.
Newcastle United continue an absolutely chaotic fixture list this weekend as they host Aston Villa in the Premier League. Both sides have ambitions of Champions League qualification and, despite playing in midweek, will see this as a real six-pointer in their quest to move up the table.
Form
The Toon won three, drew two and lost only one of the past six league matches. There have been wins over Burnley, Crystal Palace and Leeds, while we have drawn with both Wolves and Chelsea. Our only defeat in this series came in a dominant performance against Man United, where we did everything but score and were extremely unlucky to lose. We have scored eleven goals and conceded seven in these six games. With the eleven points won, we are eighth in the league and with a win we can even finish fourth on goal difference.
Aston Villa have won three, drawn one and lost two of their last six games. They have beaten Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Spurs, drawn with Crystal Palace and lost to Arsenal and Everton. They scored eight goals and conceded eight. The ten points achieved put them third in the league after a stunning season so far. They can end the weekend in joint second place and just a few points off the top, in what has become a real challenge for the title.
Last time out
De Toon hosted PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday evening and absolutely blew their opponents away.
After just eight minutes it didn’t look like Newcastle wanted to relinquish the lead, which was doubled before half-time. PSV may feel like they gave us both goals, but Wissa and Gordon were in the right place at the right time to finish off the chances. Further scoring was achieved when Harvey Barnes showed fancy footwork to slot through the backline and calmly stroke the ball home to seal an impressive 3–0 win and book a place in the knockout round of the Champions League. The only downside to an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable evening was the sight of Bruno hobbling through the tunnel before half-time with a swollen ankle. Hopefully he will be fully fit and ready to go by the weekend.
Aston Villa traveled to Turkish giants Fenerbahce on Thursday evening and sealed their place in the last 16 of the Europa League with a stunning 1-0 win.
State attack!
-Aston Villa have not won in their last seventeen visits to St James’ Park.
-Newcastle has defeated Villa at home in the last four consecutive games, scoring thirteen goals.
-NUFC has found the net against Villa in each of the past fourteen home matches.
Memorable match
At the start of the 96/97 season, all eyes were on one man. Alan Shearer famously signed for NUFC for a world record £15m. The Euro ’96 golden boot winner came home to scenes of absolute chaos as Kevin Keegan’s Entertainers became favorites to win the Premier League after finishing as a heartbreaking runner-up last season.
Despite the fuss, the Toon had a disappointing start to the season, losing two of the first three games. This would all change when Sir Les Ferdinand’s first goal of the season (a winner away at Roker Park) would be the catalyst for seven straight wins that would propel United to the top of the league. When Aston Villa came to town for a midweek televised match, the two teams played one of the games of the season.
The match was only minutes old when Aston Villa were awarded a corner and Dwight Yorke opened the scoring to silence St James’ Park. Fortunately, Toon needed just sixty seconds to level when Shearer whipped a ball across the penalty area for Sir Les to slide in and score the equalizer. Things were to get even better for Newcastle when Keith Gillespie whipped in a cross from the right and Sir Les whipped in a diving header to give Toon the lead.
Newcastle were now roaring through the half and it looked as if the match was over after thirty-eight minutes when some great interplay between Ferdinand and Shearer resulted in the latter giving us a two-goal lead. Aston Villa had a man sent off just before half-time and the Toon fans were probably rubbing their hands in anticipation of a goal celebration. What was to follow, however, was an incredibly nerve-wracking second forty-five minutes with both teams attacking each other at will, throwing caution to the wind in an attempt to gain all three points. Dwight Yorke pulled one back for Aston Villa to make it 3-2 before Steve Howey converted a header from another Keith Gillespie cross shortly afterwards to restore our two-goal advantage. However, just two minutes later it was 4-3 when Yorke completed his hat-trick with twenty minutes to play. The most controversial moment of the match came with just eight minutes to go when Dwight Yorke again had the ball in the net but was wrongly flagged for offside. Had VAR been in operation and the goal stood, it would have taken a brave man to bet on Aston Villa taking all three points. As Toon held on and Aston Villa pushed for a fourth-place finish, Tino Asprilla’s fresh legs almost paid off as the Colombian clipped Villa’s goalkeeper in the dying moments and saw his effort clear off the line. What a match! Newcastle 4-3 Aston Villa.
Played for both
Ronnie Johnson played for Aston Villa for two seasons between 2002 and 2004 before signing for Graeme Souness’ Newcastle. Johnsen was a talented defender who had previously won the treble while playing for Man Utd. Unfortunately, he would only play a handful of games for the Toon as age and fitness caught up with his career.
Ciaran Clark played for Aston Villa between 2009 and 2016, scoring a header against Newcastle in a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park in 2012. He signed for Rafa Benitez in 2016 and formed a solid defensive partnership with Jamaal Lascelles as the Toon looked set to win promotion from the Championship at the first time of asking. A combative player with an eye for the odd goal, Clark would make more than a hundred appearances in a seven-year spell on Tyneside, as well as making more than thirty appearances for the Republic of Ireland.
Marlon Harewood endured a frustrating time at Villa Park, with Martin O’Neill often using him as an impact substitute. He struggled for first-team opportunities despite previously enjoying promising spells at both Nottingham Forest and West Ham. He signed for Newcastle on loan in 2009 and scored an impressive five goals in just fifteen Championship games.
Managers
Eddie Howe after a 3-0 Champions League win over PSV Eindhoven:
“A really good performance from us. A difficult opponent, tactically difficult to play against. We were rewarded today with some very good goals. The players rose to the challenge and I thought this was the best individual performance of many players for a while. Many players have excelled in this competition this year and Anthony Gordon is one of them.”
It was a difficult start for Yoane Wissa here. When a new player suffers a serious injury without even training, it is mentally very difficult. So it’s taken a while for us to get him to a level close to his best, and I still feel like there’s more to come. A big night for him tonight because that’s partly why he came to the club – for these nights – and I’m just happy he’s had a positive impact.”
Unai Emery after a 1-0 win away at Fenerbahce in the Europa League:
“We have clear objectives in this competition to be a contender for a trophy. To be a contender in case we need this trophy to play in the Champions League. In our competition it is very difficult. I dream of being able to win trophies here and the Europa is one of the objectives we have this year.”
Good cause
The Newcastle United Fan Food Bank will once again be raising money across the Gallowgate, gratefully receiving food, cash and toiletries for those in need. Of particular importance are non-perishable food and drink items (such as noodles, pasta, rice, canned food, soup, cereal, liquor, long-life milk, etc.) as well as toiletries such as shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste and sanitary products. Please give what you can, any donation is greatly appreciated.
For more information and/or to donate online, visit Newcastle Food Bank
Prediction
Both teams would see a win this weekend as absolutely massive in terms of Champions League qualification. The Toon have looked good at home of late, while Villa have been wobbling a bit. They also have one less day to prepare and had to travel back from a European away match in mid-week. I’m going here for the win in an entertaining match. Newcastle 2-0 Aston Villa
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