Newcastle vs Aston Villa: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Newcastle United head into this game with three consecutive wins in all competitions under their belt following their 4-0 victory over Ipswich Town; however, expect Aston Villa to make this game difficult for the Magpies after their impressive 2-1 win against Manchester City.

Aston Villa are without a clean sheet in their last three games and without a win against Newcastle United in the previous three meetings between the two teams. Aston Villa's form away from home is less than adequate, with the Villains losing their previous four games on their travels in the Premier League. Expect goals in this fixture, as Over 2.5 goals have been scored in the last five involving both teams – Newcastle 2-1 Aston Villa

Newcastle host Aston Villa in the Premier League, with both sides looking to build on huge wins last weekend.

Date: 26/12/24

Kick-off time: 15:00

Venue: St James’ Park

A dominant 4-0 win at Ipswich made it two wins in a row for Newcastle as they moved to eighth in the league. On 26 points, they trail the top four by just five points. Another win would see them edge closer to the Champions League places, but a defeat could allow several teams below to take advantage. Brentford, who are in 12th, trail the Magpies by just three points, highlighting how congested the table is heading into Christmas.

Fresh off their huge 2-1 victory at home to Man City, Aston Villa will look to break into the top four. As a result of their win, they overtook the champions and are in fifth place. They are two points ahead of Newcastle. Villa are now winners of three of their last five games, so this fixture will be between two in-form teams.

There should be goals in this one as both attacks have plenty of talent to cause damage. The hosts, in particular, have been potent of late with 13 goals in their last four league games. Six of these came from Alexander Isak, who has announced himself as one of the best strikers in the league. The Swede has scored 10 overall, including a hat-trick last time out. Only three players have scored more this season. Against a Villa defence who have kept just one clean sheet in their last 10, he should be confident in scoring in a fifth game in a row.

It is a similar story for Unai Emery’s side, who have a fearsome striker tandem of Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran. Duran began the season on the bench, but has been preferred in the last two games to his English teammate. The pair have scored seven apiece, and they give their manager a tough decision week in week out. Newcastle have kept two consecutive clean sheets, but had not kept one in five prior. Villa are superior opponents than Ipswich and Leicester, so should provide a much greater threat.

These two teams have met 10 times in the Premier League since 2019. There has been nothing to split the pair in this period with four wins each and two draws. However, recent history is in favour of Newcastle, who have won four of the last five fixtures. Last season, the Magpies did the double over Villa, with the latest meeting a 3-1 win at Villa Park. In the reverse fixture, they were dominant 5-1 winners at home, which included a brace from Isak.

Newcastle vs Aston Villa will be available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.

Newcastle

Joelinton missed the last game through suspension, but should return to the starting lineup on Boxing Day. Newcastle have a number of long-term absentees including Sven Botman, Nick Pope, Callum Wilson and Jamaal Lascelles, but they do not have any new injury concerns.

Aston Villa

Unai Emery should have an almost fully fit squad to choose from for this game. Jacob Ramsey is set to be the only absentee with a return expected early in the new year. Emery could opt to continue with Jhon Duran up front after leaving Ollie Watkins out of the lineup in the last two games.

Newcastle

In their last five games, Newcastle have won three, drawn one and lost one. It has been a strong stretch for the Magpies as they battle for European football. This run started with a thrilling 3-3 draw at home to Liverpool. The hosts took the lead twice through Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon before being pegged back twice. The Reds went in front with less than 10 minutes to go, but Fabian Schar salvaged a point at the death.

They travelled to Brentford in their next game, but fell to a 4-2 defeat. Newcastle trailed twice early, but got back on level terms with strikes from Isak and Harvey Barnes. However the second half was all Brentford as they scored two to seal maximum points. A home game against Leicester saw them get back to winning ways. It was a dominant 4-0 victory with Jacob Murphy (x2), Bruno Guimaraes and Isak on the scoresheet.

Another meeting with Brentford took place in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup. Newcastle advanced to the semis with a 3-1 win. Sandro Tonali scored a brace before Schar added a third. Yoane Wissa netted a late consolation. Last time out, they travelled to Ipswich. They were comprehensive 4-0 winners, as Isak netted a hat-trick in addition to another Murphy goal.

Aston Villa

In their last five games, Aston Villa have won four and lost one. It has been a dominant stretch for Villa following a dip in form as they have picked up some important wins. This run started with a victory, as they won 3-1 at home to Brentford. Villa were 3-0 up at half-time with goals from Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Matty Cash. Mikkel Damsgaard pulled one back for the visitors shortly after the restart but were unable to mount a comeback.

Another win followed as they beat bottom club Southampton 1-0. Jhon Duran scored the winning goal. Attention shifted to Champions League action where they travelled to Germany to face RB Leipzig. Villa took the lead three times, firstly through John McGinn and Duran, before Ross Barkley netted the winner with five minutes to go.

Their only defeat of this stretch came at Nottingham Forest. They lost 2-1 as Forest scored twice in the closing stages to overturn a 1-0 deficit given to them by Duran. Last time out, they faced struggling Man City at home. They beat the champions 2-1, with goals from Duran and Rogers before a late Phil Foden consolation.

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