English Premier League Soccer - Newcastle United vs. Aston Villa, 6/24/20 - Preview, Prediction & Odds
Sitting second-bottom in the standings, Aston Villa will try to improve their Premier League survival hopes while paying a visit to 13th-placed Newcastle United, who are unbeaten in four straight domestic fixtures. Kick-off - at 13:00 PM ET on Wednesday, June 24.
Newcastle Beat 10-Men Blades
Newcastle United recorded their second consecutive league victory after extending their unbeaten run in the EPL to three contests (W2 D1) following a 3-0 triumph against Sheffield United at St. James’ Park on Sunday. The Magpies found the back of the net three times in the second half after the Blades had a player sent off in the 50th minute for a second bookable offense, with Allan Saint-Maximin, Matt Ritchie and Joelinton all on the scoreboard for the hosts. Newcastle has now gone unbeaten in four successive Premier League home games (W2 D2), keeping four straight domestic clean sheets for the first time since April 2012. The team is 13th in the standings (W10 D8 L12), 11 points above the bottom three.
English midfielder Jonjo Shelvey leads the Magpies with five Premier League goals. Keeper Martin Dubravka, meanwhile, has stopped 118 shots this year, sitting at the top of England’s top-tier’s saves chart. He has posted 10 clean sheets in 30 appearances during the ongoing campaign and gives up a goal every 66 minutes on average. Newcastle have scored the 2nd lowest amount of goals this year (28) while delivering the 15th highest quantity of shots per game (10.4). The team is bottom of the league in ball possession (41.0%) and 4th from the bottom in passing accuracy (74.5%).
Villa Remain In The Basement
The winless run of Aston Villa extended to six Premier League contests (D1 L5) after the Birmingham team dropped a 2-1 decision against Chelsea at home at Villa Park on Sunday. Despite ending the game with a horrid percentage in ball control (26%), the Villans still managed to score the opening snipe, with defender Kortney Hause tallying just before half-time, thus getting a goal in each of England’s top four divisions to date, only for the Blues to find the back of the net twice in the last 30 minutes of the contest. The defeat leaves Aston Villa second-bottom in the Premier League (W7 D5 L18), albeit just one point from safety.
English playmaker Jack Grealish tops Villan's scoring chart with seven league markers. Goalie Orjan Nyland, meanwhile, sits 28th in the Premier League with 12 saves. He has picked up one clean sheet in five appearances this season and concedes a goal every 36 minutes of play. Aston Villa have scored the 11th highest quantity of goals thus far this year (35), while delivering the 10th highest number of shots per game (12.2). The team is 13th in ball possession (46.6%) and 11th in passing accuracy (77.3%).
Prediction
Even though Aston Villa sits just one point below safety, their chances of survival in the Premier League this season are pretty slim. The team still has games against the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Arsenal lined up and will not have a walk in the park in Newcastle either. The Magpies have been deadly on their own turf in the calendar year of 2020, going unbeaten in five straight domestic games in all competitions (W2 D3), keeping a clean sheet in all of them. The Villans did break a winless run of 12 league encounters against Newcastle (D6 L6) with a 2-0 victory in this season’s reverse fixture back in November. But do expect the Magpies to bounce back in this one. Especially against a team that has failed to score in three of its last four matches in the EPL.
Best bets:
Newcastle to win to nil (+260)
Under 2.5 goals (-140)