Newcastle United host Aston Villa on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season, with the two sides meeting at St. James’ Park in Saturday’s late kick-off.
Both clubs enjoyed a successful 2022-23 campaign, with Newcastle finishing fourth and Aston Villa snatching the seventh and final European spot.
Newcastle United will play Champions League football this season, while the Villains will compete in the Europa Conference League.
Newcastle lost just five of their 38 Premier League matches last term, picking up 19 wins and 14 draws along the way.
Consequently, no team suffered fewer defeats than Newcastle in 2022-23, while no side registered more draws than Eddie Howe’s men.
It is also worth remembering that Newcastle finished the previous campaign with the joint-best defensive record in the division, conceding the same number of goals as Manchester City – 33.
Having enjoyed a successful pre-season – winning five and drawing two of their seven warm-up matches – the Magpies are ready to soar in 2023-24.
Like Newcastle, Aston Villa have enjoyed an unbeaten pre-season, registering three wins and three draws to breathe confidence into the squad.
Let's not forget that Villa were on course for a relegation scrap before Unai Emeray replaced Steven Gerrard last term, with the Spanish manager completely transforming the club's fortunes.
In a matter of months, Emery took the Villains from the bottom end of the Premier League table to the European places, as Villa lost only two of their final 15 matches.
It is worth pointing out, however, that each of Villa’s previous four away league games have produced under 2.5 goals, suggesting that Saturday’s clash will be a low-scoring encounter.
Head-to-head: Newcastle thrashed Villa 4-0 at St. James’ Park last October before Emery’s men gained their revenge with a 3-0 victory in the reverse fixture.
Interestingly, both sides have claimed two clean-sheet wins on home soil across the past four Premier League meetings between the teams.
Team news: Newcastle have Emil Krafth and Javi Manquillo sidelined through injury, while Fabian Schar and Joe Willock are doubts for this weekend.
As for the visitors, they will be without the injured quartet of Emi Buendia, Kortney Hause, Alex Moreno and Jacob Ramsey for the opening game of the season.
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