Newcastle United vs Aston Villa Preview

Newcastle United will kick off their 2023/24 Premier League season with a home game against Aston Villa this Saturday.

The Magpies enjoyed the 2022/23 PL edition as it ended with them finishing in the top four for the first time in nearly two decades so they come into this new season with a spring in their step.

Their triumph in the new pre-season Sela Cup, which came courtesy of impressive wins against Fiorentina (2-0) and Villarreal (4-0), will also have spurred them further to add an established and coveted piece of silverware to their trophy cabinet which has been gathering dust since 1969.

As manager Eddie Howe pointed out, his boys will be eager to start well against Unai Emery’s Villa. But this game may not be quite as simple for Howe who has lost all four meetings with Emery by an 11-2 aggregate score.

The fact that Newcastle have not lost against Aston Villa on home turf since the start of 2005/06 (W9, D6) will give the St. James Park’s faithful confidence that their side, who lost just two home games in the PL last season, can win this game.

Meanwhile, Villa have enjoyed a remarkable revival under Unai Emery. The Spanish coach, who only joined the club in October last year, led them to a seventh-place finish which booked their place in the Europa Conference League.

His side earned more Premier League (PL) points than all but four clubs from the beginning of November 2022, so there’s understandably a lot of excitement about Emery’s first full season at the club.

He will hope to do even better with an improved squad this season, with Pau Torres, Youri Tielemans and Moussa Diaby seen as excellent additions to Aston Villa.

Other fixtures taking place this week in the Premier League Fixtures:

Premier League Table