Both sides faced each other as early as last month in the Premier League Summer Series, which ended up being an entertaining 3-3 draw.
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The wait is almost over for Newcastle United, as they are set to kick-start their new Premier League campaign against Aston Villa. The optimism will be high among Newcastle’s supporters following their impressive end to the last campaign, which saw them secure Champions League football. The Magpies finished third in the league to book a return to Europe’s elite competition after a lengthy break.
With some exciting new signings being made in the transfer window, their fans have every reason to be hopeful about the new Premier League season. However, it will not be easy against Aston Villa who had an impressive turnaround last campaign following the arrival of Unai Emery as their manager. Both sides faced each other as early as last month in the Premier League Summer Series, which ended up being an entertaining 3-3 draw.
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe spoke highly of Emery during the pre-match press conference. “If you look at last season and the job that he did – and we obviously encountered one of those wins that they got towards the end of last season – I thought they were excellent against us. I think he’s done a magnificent job, I think his players have done a magnificent job as well and they narrowly missed out on getting close to us,” he was quoted as saying by the club’s website.
“We know it’s going to be difficult. We’ve played against them again in pre-season, so I think we know each other quite well and I think there’s a lot of healthy respect between the two teams. It’s the Premier League, though – there’s several teams in our bracket, as in vastly improved and looking upwards, so we’re not alone. That’s where the Premier League is such a special league, because there’s no guarantee for any of those clubs that that momentum will continue.”
The attention then shifted to the reliable centre-back Fabian Schär, who has missed Newcastle’s final three pre-season fixtures through injury. Eddie Howe though provided with a positive update on his fitness situation. “As we currently stand, yes he will be (in the squad). He’s trained this week, and he’s trained well, so he was back with us on Tuesday. He’s had a full week’s training,” the manager explained.
Howe further spoke about the pre-season and where he thinks the team is currently ahead of the season opener. “I feel we’re in a good place. It was an intense pre-season period for us, especially with the trip to America. With the travelling and everything that comes with it, playing in different places, it was a really good experience. We enjoyed it from lots of different aspects,” he elaborated.
He added: “We came back and it’s been really good to get the two weeks back here. The double-header at the weekend finished off where we needed to be. I think now we enter the season probably where you’d expect to be after a full pre-season – fit, eager and looking forward to the challenge.”
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