Newcastle United – Aston Villa: Five Star Newcastle Lay Down Early Season Marker (5-1)

Newcastle’s gameplan in and out of possession made them deserved winners of this match. However, Villa’s insistence of playing a high defensive line without the required engagement on the ball changed the potential narrative of this game from “opening day away loss” to “statement home victory”. 

Tactical analysis and match report by Nick Smoothy. 

The opening Saturday of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign saw a match up between two of last season’s success stories. In the home corner was Newcastle United whose fourth placed finish secured the prize of Champions League. Newcastle only lost five matches in the league last season and conceded the joint fewest goals (33). Both of these factors played a role in the club achieving their highest league position for twenty years.

In the away corner was Aston Villa whose seventh-place finish secured qualification for the Conference League and the club’s highest top-flight spot for a decade. Unai Emery’s appointment in November 2022 sparked an upheaval in results, and in this calendar year, only Manchester City had collected more wins and points than Villa (13 wins and 43 points) across the league.

With European football on the horizon, each club has attempted to strengthen their respective squads for the coming season. However, both managers opted to only select one of their new recruits in their respective starting elevens.

Eddie Howe lined his side up in their trusted 4-3-3 formation, with Nick Pope behind Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schär, Sven Botman and Dan Burn. In midfield, Bruno Guimarães and Joelinton were joined by debutant Sandro Tonali. Alexander Isak led the line and was flanked by Miguel Almirón and Anthony . . .