Aston Villa v Newcastle Match Result
The Premier League football betting sites give Aston Villa a 43% chance of landing a win in this Saturday lunchtime encounter. Some might argue that Unai Emery’s side are far more likely to get the job done considering that they face a Newcastle side who have been down on their luck in the transfer market. There’s also the difficult situation concerning Alexander Isak.
It's possible that the Swede will remain at St James’ Park and could actually feature here. The latest odds suggest that it’s a toss-up over whether the sharp shooter will represent Newcastle next season or alternatively join Liverpool. Either way, the Tyneside club have missed out on some key transfer targets and failed to significantly strengthen.
Eddie Howe’s side won seven times on the road last season and they have bought Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest, with the forward likely to start in this encounter. The bookies make the visitors a roughly 35% chance of landing a success from this clash. They might well be satisfied to take a draw when you consider it’s been a difficult pre-season.
Emery will however be confident that the Villans can make home advantage count. He will hope that the injury sustained by Morgan Rogers in a pre-season clash won’t rule out the England midfielder when it comes to this clash. The rest of the Villa squad has largely remained the same as last season, with Evann Guessand the most notable capture when arriving for a fee of £26 million.
One thing to note is that only one team left Villa Park with three points last season. Their other eighteen home clashes involved eleven wins and seven draws. Therefore, even if you want to oppose the home side, it’s probably worth considering a bet on the game to finish all square and that is probably where the value lies.
Goals Under/Over
Over 2.5 Goals is a likely outcome in this game according to the latest odds. The bookies think that there’s a 62% likelihood of three goals or more being scored. The last six meetings between Aston Villa and Newcastle have seen this happen. There were five goals scored in the clash at Villa Park last term and we’re looking at two attack-minded sides with lots of quality players.
There could even be scope for backing Over 3.5 Goals at a bigger price which will be odds-against, although there’s the chance that Newcastle might shut up shop and operate a defensive gameplan. Elanga is the only notable arrival and there is a big question mark over whether Isak goes out and represents the team.
Therefore, Under 2.5 Goals might finally happen in an Aston Villa v Newcastle clash. Due to this being the opening game of a campaign and an early kick-off, we might see chances being at more of a premium.
BTTS
The Premier League bookies think that there’s an even stronger chance of both teams scoring compared to Over 2.5 Goals. They afford the probability of BTTS Yes as a 66% and we have seen this outcome happen in three of the past four encounters. There was that 4-1 win at Villa Park last term where Ollie Watkins scored an opener before an equaliser came from Fabian Schar.
Then came three goals in the final half hour of the game, with the reverse fixture seeing the Magpies landing a 3-0 win so that could warn against both teams scoring. We keep coming back to Isak and the prospect that the Swede won’t be lining up here. It means that Anthony Gordon is likely to operate as the number nine for the Magpies.
If you do think that both teams will score, you might consider combining this selection with a home win. Villa have been bagging lots of goals in pre-season and perhaps they can make a big impact here, with Ollie Watkins spearheading a team who can chip in with plenty of goals.
First Goalscorer
Ollie Watkins will be the most popular First Goalscorer selection, with the England man looking to hit the ground running for Villa. He wasn’t always first choice last season although it looks as though he claims the main striker spot. We know he’ll be on penalties and there’s an argument that he will be the top scorer in the Premier League this season.
If Morgan Rogers is fit, then he’s a good bigger-priced alternative. Youri Tielemans is another prospect who could find his way into attacking positions, although it was the former who posed a lively threat from the number ten position last term. He was able to score fourteen goals in all competitions last term.
Newcastle might yet select Isak to start up top and he has some making up to do when it comes to reconciling with the Toon Army. If the Swede isn’t involved and you think that Newcastle can still trouble the opposition net, then you might consider Anthony Gordon considering he’s operating as a makeshift centre forward.
Elanga was sheer class for Nottingham Forest last term and there could be plenty to come from the pacy frontman, with Harvey Barnes someone who was able to find the net regularly when he was on the pitch. Jacob Murphy will look to get the nod in the starting XI and he definitely had a purple patch last term.