Life does not get much easier for Aston Villa after their Champions League exit, with Newcastle United heading to Villa Park.
As Aston Villa lick their wounds following their Champions League quarter-final loss to Paris Saint-Germain, they prepare to face a red hot Newcastle United side that is looking to return to that very competition.
The Magpies have been riding a wave of momentum since winning the Carabao Cup. They have been absolutely unstoppable, with Eddie Howe’s side winning six games in a row.
Eddie Howe will miss the game at Villa Park as he continues to recover from pneumonia, meaning it will be Jason Tindall that takes charge.
His side are full of confidence, and Unai Emery has heaped praise on Newcastle United ahead of Saturday evening’s Premier League clash.
Unai Emery compares Newcastle United to PSG
Ahead of Aston Villa vs Newcastle United, Emery has spoken to the media for his pre-match press conference.
Interestingly, Emery has admitted that he thinks that the Magpies are at a ‘similar level’ to their midweek opponents PSG.
“Tomorrow’s match is our objective, and the level they [Newcastle] have is similar level as PSG’s team,” he told Aston Villa’s official website.
Emery added: “The first step is tomorrow. The first three points we will face against favourites to be in the top five, because they are now really performing very well, they are winning a lot of matches in a row, getting a lot of points.
“They are now in their best moment. They are performing very well, they are winning matches, they are feeling confident, they are feeling so strong.
“They have five points more than us. It means a lot, how we are, how they are, how important is the match tomorrow.”
Newcastle United can capitalise on Champions League misery yet again
While Newcastle United will be full of confidence heading to Villa Park, it is unclear what kind of Aston Villa side they will face.
On one hand, they could be flat after seeing their Champions League journey come to an end at the hands of PSG.
On the other, they could be buoyed by such an outstanding performance against an elite side. While they lost on aggregate, they did win in 90 minutes on Tuesday night.
Newcastle will hope it is the former, as it could give them a second chance this season to capitalise on a Champions League victory for PSG.
Just days before Newcastle beat Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final, Arne Slot’s side suffered a heartbreaking defeat to the Ligue 1 giants. They went through the agony of extra time and penalties before elimination, and were unable to dust themselves off in time for Wembley.
That allowed Newcastle to take advantage and win their first domestic trophy since 1955.
Now Champions League qualification is on the agenda for the Magpies, and they will take a giant step towards a return with another three points on Saturday evening at Aston Villa’s expense.
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