Newcastle take on the visitors Aston Villa in the round 1 match of English Premier League. The match will be played on Saturday, August 12th at St. James Park (Newcastle).
Newcastle will play in the Champions League for the first time in 2 decades. The Magpies, at the moment when they were transitioning from the ownership of the persistent Mike Ashley to the ownership of the Saudi royal family fund, were on the verge of returning to the Championship. However, the investments from the new investor, combined with the talents of the coach brought in by him, Eddie Howe, allowed them to rise to the middle of the league table in the spring of the previous year. And in the 2022/2023 season, right from the beginning of the campaign, the black and whites managed to establish themselves among the top four - a position they held throughout the football year, even reaching the final of the League Cup. Although they lost in the final, they finished in the 4th position. This meant the long-awaited return to the Champions League. It's no surprise that they spent over 100 million, primarily on Tonali, as well as Barnes and Livramento. However, they also bid farewell to their once-brightest star, dribbler Saint-Maximin - Allan, who, like many, will continue his career in Saudi Arabia.
| 2 x £10 Free Bet | Review | |||
| 100$-500$ for No Lose Free Bets | Review | |||
| 100% up to £200 | Review | |||
| Not available | Review |
Aston Villa didn't invite Emery in vain. After the record sale of Jack Grealish, Villa quickly changed their manager, calling on Gerrard to rescue them from the threat of relegation. In the end, Steven managed this task quite well, but couldn't achieve more, and he only lasted a year in the position. In the autumn, they brought in Emery, who showed that he was a stronger and more experienced coach than Stevie G. Unai clearly wanted to redeem himself for his failure in England with London's Arsenal, and so far he's been doing quite well, starting with a debut victory over Man Utd and culminating in a mid-season result of 7th place, which secures a spot in the Conference League for Villa. This is inspiring, which led to the signing of Diaby from Bayer for 55 million and the reunion of the manager with Pau Torres - they paid 33 million for the talented defender from Villarreal. Other newcomers are not ruled out, but they certainly won't arrive in time for the weekends.
In both the previous season and the season before that, the sides exchanged dry home victories. The Magpies are certainly not weaker than their opponents, and the stadium factor is in their favor. We expect a victory for the home side here.
Prediction for the match: Newcastle to win.
