Saturday at Villa Park, Newcastle comes to town minus Alexander Isak while Ollie Watkins dresses for the home side. That really may be the ultimate difference in the season opener between these sides.
Game Details and How to Watch Aston Villa v. Newcastle United
Date: Saturday, August 16, 2025
Time: 7:30AM EST
Site: Villa Park
City: Birmingham, England
Network/Streaming: USA Network
Newcastle finished fifth in the Premier League last season, one place above Aston Villa, with both teams achieving 66 points. Newcastle won 20 games, while Aston Villa finished with 19 wins.
Eddie Howe’s club was poised to contend for a Top 3 position this season until Alexander Isak’s vow he would never again dress for the Magpies derailed those aspirations.
As mentioned, Villa offers a major challenge for the opposing side even under ideal circumstances. Unai Emery’s side have won eight of their last ten league games to end last season and have enjoyed five straight successes at Villa Park. A deeper dive reminds all that Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last 18 home games in the Premier League, having lost just one of the last 24 at Villa Park.
Aston Villa’s defence is solid. They kept clean sheets in three of their final four Premier League games of last season.
Newcastle’s recent form in the preseason has been less than good as it appears the drama surrounding Alexander Isak is affecting the squad.
Best Bet: A 2-0 win for Aston Villa looks the best correct-score bet. At least one side failed to score in Newcastle’s last three Premier League games last season, and four of their 12 defeats saw them on the wrong end of a two-goal deficit.
*Best Bet courtesy of Spotlight Sports Group
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