Head-to-head history
Newcastle has Aston Villa’s numbers in recent memory. They’ve won four of the last five meetings and pulled off the double in 2023-24 with 5-1 and 3-1 victories. That will certainly have the Magpies feeling confident on Thursday. However, the Villains are playing well and just took down City, who are never an easy opponent for anybody, despite their poor form as of late.
Newcastle in the mix
Perhaps the Magpies aren’t in a Champions League spot like a couple of seasons ago, but playing in Europe next season remains a possibility. Newcastle sits in eighth place and just two points off fifth place Bournemouth. Another win and results going their way elsewhere could easily propel them into the top six.
Eddie Howe’s men have won three straight games across all competitions, beating Leicester City, Brentford in League Cup, and Ipswich on Saturday. During that span, the Magpies have only conceded once while smashing the back of the net 11 times. Very impressive, to say the least. Isak was the star of the show over the weekend with three goals, taking his tally to 10 on the season. The Swede has been fantastic since joining the club.
These next few games will be a very stiff test for Newcastle. Even though they’ve played well against Villa, they’re still a quality side. After the Lions visit, the Magpies hit the road to face Manchester United and Tottenham. All of these games are in a span of just nine days, too. Betway has Newcastle as a -118 favorite on Thursday.
Villa is a force to be reckoned with
They may be a small club, but Aston Villa is really strutting their stuff this season. Unai Emery’s group is flying into the knockout stages in the Champions League with a 4-1-1 record and also sits in sixth place in the Premier League, just three points behind fourth spot, going 8-4-5. Villa has won four of their last five outings, with just one defeat to Nottingham Forest, which came as a bit of a shock.
The Lions also went into Leipzig and beat the Bundesliga giants earlier this month in the UCL while taking down Brentford, Southampton, and of course, City on Saturday. The title-holders put on some late pressure but Villa managed to keep the lead and grab a much-needed three points on home soil. The front two for this club have been brilliant.
Ollie Watkins and Duran have seven goals apiece, with the latter mostly coming on as a substitute. But, he’s starting more lately because he’s just that lethal in the final third. Rogers has also made his presence felt, netting five times and assisting another three. Likely due to their poor form against Newcastle, soccer betting sites have them as an underdog on the road here. After all, the Lions do have a poor 3-1-4 record away from Villa Park, too.
