Aston Villa – Newcastle: Emery’s Idea Breaks Newcastle’s Pressing (4-1)

Unai Emery's Aston Villa team found a way to break through Newcastle's midfield pressing through their positional structure in this game and were rewarded with three points. The first half ended level, but three goals in quick succession in the second half secured the win for Villa who also gave away few chances from open play.

Tactical analysis and match report by Josh Manley.

Aston Villa were eliminated from the Champions League in midweek after fighting bravely against Paris Saint-Germain, but their season is far from over, as the race for the top five in the Premier League continues. They faced fellow top five battlers Newcastle United this weekend, with the Magpies already having picked up silverware this season and coming into this game on the back of a five-game winning run in the league which had moved them up to third.

Villa lined up in a 4-2-3-1 shape with a back four of Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, and Ian Maatsen. Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans were the double-pivot, with Morgan Rogers, Marco Asensio, and John McGinn as the attacking midfield trio ahead of them. Ollie Watkins then led the line as striker.

Newcastle meanwhile deployed their usual 4-3-3 system in the absence of Eddie Howe who continues to recover from illness. Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schär, Dan . . .