Aston Villa vs. Newcastle United – EPL, January 23, 2021

Aston Villa and Newcastle meet on Saturday for this rearranged fixture that was supposed to have been played in December.

Only four places separate the clubs in the EPL table, but Villa would seem to be miles ahead of Newcastle at the moment.

Even with a very disjointed few months for Aston Villa recently, MyBookie makes the West Midlands club a firm favorite here. Newcastle is in a familiar state of disarray, so it is difficult to argue with that verdict. I would want much larger odds in order to be tempted to back Steve Bruce’s team.

Dean Smith was so angry with the officiating of Villa’s game with Manchester City on Wednesday that he got himself sent off for arguing about the validity of Bernado Silva’s goal. The ref got the decision right, but the frustration is understandable after Villa had held City goalless until ten minutes left in the game.

Villa hasn’t actually won a Premier League game since Boxing Day, but that is largely down to cup fixtures and COVID postponements rather than any new year malaise. It has at least two games in hand over the majority of the league now and should be able to put more points on the board this weekend.

Most Newcastle fans would probably not have had their team to beat a resurgent Arsenal at the Emirates on Monday. But the manner of the defeat is what would have disappointed most. Steve Bruce looked completely clueless as to how to stop the Gunners dominating the game – and it was no surprise that it ended 3-0 to the home side.

Newcastle hasn’t won a Premier League game in the last seven now – and has crashed out of both the EFL and FA Cup in that time as well. With little development in the ongoing sale of the club, there is precious little for the fans to get excited about at the current time. Another defeat at the hands of Villa will hardly raise the mood. 

The odds for the home win are not attractive, but Villa has looked far better than Newcastle this season, and there seems no way that the visitors can come away with anything from this fixture. If someone like Callum Wilson is able to open the scoring, it might make for a more even game – but this should be Aston Villa’s to lose.