Aston Villa host Newcastle United in round 2 of the Premier League. The match will be played on Saturday, August 21st at Villa Park (Birmingham)
Aston Villa played their debut match in the new season on August 14. The Lions turned out to be weaker than Watford away (2-3). The Hornets, who played in the Championship last season, scored three unanswered goals by the 67th minute. They were scored through the efforts of Emmanuel Dennis, Ismaila Sarr, and Juan Camilo Hernandez. 20 minutes before the end of regulation time, Aston Villa breached the defense of the hosts thanks to the efforts of John McGinn, and then the Lions reduced the gap to a minimum in the 7th added minute. The penalty was converted by Danny Ings. In the remaining time, Villa tried but couldn’t gain a draw.
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On August 15, Newcastle failed to cope with West Ham (2-4) in a goal-scoring match of the opening round. The teams exchanged quick goals by the 18th minute. For the hosts, Callum Wilson turned it home after a high cross from the flank, and the Hammers equalized through the efforts of Aaron Cresswell. At the end of the first half, the Magpies took the lead again after another flank cross, which ended with a shot by Jacob Murphy. In the second half, Newcastle United were not ready for West Ham to increase the pressure on Freddie Woodman's goal. Within 13 minutes, Said Benrahma, Tomas Soucek, and Michael Antonio buried the Magpies’ hopes for a home win.
Aston Villa has perfect home statistics, and it makes the Lions favorites of the upcoming match. Despite the sale of Grealish, the club has the talent pool to make up for this loss, but the players lack cohesion so far. Beyond that, the coaching staff of Smith is in search of optimal combinations in the attack due to the absence of injured Watkins. In the first round, Newcastle showed a chaotic game in defense and allowed West Ham to do too much in the penalty area. If the Magpies do not resolve the issue of defense, the match against Aston Villa may have a similar scenario. The Lions, who have upset the Black-and-Whites in the last four matches, are unlikely to be left without a goal at Villa Park. However, the hosts themselves made a lot of mistakes in the match against Watford, so the visitors should also score.
Prediction for the match: Both teams to score — yes
