At A Glance
Aston Villa are hunting a fifth consecutive Premier League win when Newcastle United come to town on Saturday.
Victories against Bournemouth, Chelsea, Leicester City and Nottingham Forest have propelled Unai Emery’s team to sixth place in the table.
That sequence is part of a seven-game unbeaten run that has seen Villa keep five clean sheets and concede only two goals.
Newcastle are enjoying a fine campaign and arrive in B6 third in the league on the back of a five-game winning run.
Eddie Howe’s team have accrued 27 of their 56 points away from home, having lost only twice on the road this term.
Last time out, the Magpies came from behind to beat Brentford 2-1.
Standout Stats
Newcastle are aiming for a third consecutive league win over Aston Villa.
However, Villa have won the last three meetings at Villa Park, all by a 2-0 scoreline.
Newcastle are without a victory in six league away games versus Villa (D3, L3), last winning in 2013.
Aston Villa could win five top-flight games in a row for the first time since 1998.
Newcastle could win four straight away games in the Premier League for only the third time, with the previous two occasions coming in 1994 and 1996.
Villa are currently on 47 points after 30 games, having already surpassed their final Premier League points total last season of 45.
Newcastle have kept only one clean sheet in their last nine Premier League games, but Nick Pope remains joint-top of the Premier League Golden Glove standings with 13 clean sheets.
The Magpies could score multiple goals in six consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since 2004.
Of Newcastle's 16 Premier League goals in 2023, six have been scored by Alexander Isak and four by Callum Wilson.
Isak could equal Peter Beardsley's club record - set in 1993 - of scoring in four consecutive Premier League away games for Newcastle.
The Last Meeting
Aston Villa were convincingly beaten 4-0 by Newcastle United at St James’ Park in October.
The Villans matched the Magpies in an evenly-balanced first half but fell behind to Callum Wilson’s penalty in the sixth minute of injury time.
Three goals were conceded in 11 second-half minutes with Wilson heading home a second before Joelinton converted from a rebound and Miguel Almiron curled in from distance.
Team News
Villa are set to be without Matty Cash, Philippe Coutinho, Boubacar Kamara and Leon Bailey, who limped off in last weekend’s win.
Newcastle will be without Allan Saint-Maximin and the game is likely to come too soon for Miguel Almiron.
Emil Krafth is the Magpies’ only long-term injury absentee.
The Boss
“Newcastle is a team whose development has been very strong. They are building a very serious team, a very organised team. Now, they are one of the best teams in the Premier League, playing with his (Eddie Howe’s) identity. They are very aggressive in high pressing, aggressive individually and they are feeling strong in their mentality. We have faced a lot of big challenges and been successful but tomorrow is the most difficult challenge we are going to face in the last matches.”
Unai Emery
