Newcastle United host Aston Villa on Boxing Day at St James’ Park in a clash between two teams separated by just two points in the Premier League table.
The Magpies come into the game in fine form, winning their last two EPL matches with 4-0 scorelines against Leicester and Ipswich, while Aston Villa overcame Manchester City 2-1 in their previous outing—as if the Cityzens were good for anything these days, anyway.
Alexander Isak has been pivotal for Newcastle, netting a hat-trick at Ipswich to bring his Premier League tally for 2024 to 10 goals. As much as Isak provides the team with, Newcastle will remain without key players, including Nick Pope, Callum Wilson, and Sven Botman, while Joelinton is a doubt despite returning from suspension.
Villa, under Unai Emery, will look to halt their poor away form, having lost their last four league games on the road. Villa’s recent record on Boxing Day is also concerning, with defeats in each of the last three seasons.
Here are some of Howe’s Wisdom Nuggets, courtesy of NUFC.co.uk
On the next few games over Christmas...
“(We’ve got) every reason for us to be excited about those games. I have been really pleased with how we have played in recent games, and I think we need to take that into the next week.
“We have some brilliant games on paper for everyone to attack and enjoy.”
On playing at home on Boxing Day...
“When you are playing at home over the festive period, these games are brilliant things to be a part of so, yeah, we are looking forward to the game.
“When you perform and play well, you want the games to come to you.”
On the challenge posed by Unai Emery’s Aston Villa...
“We had two good games against Aston Villa last season. This will be a really good challenge for us.
“I think they have good depth in their squad, they have some really good players. Their style is very difficult to play against - (they are) very well coached, very well drilled.”
On Joe Willock and Nick Pope’s fitness...
“Joe is fine. To keep Joe fit for a sustained spell is now important for him to get back to his very best level - it will take him a period of games.
“Nick is doing OK. He has had a couple of injections in his knee. Quite when he will be fit, it is still difficult to give a definitive date.”
On Jacob Murphy’s recent influence on his side...
“Jacob is very selfless - he always plays for the team, he really takes a buzz out of creating a goal. He has always been that way. Those qualities, every team needs.”
Howay!
Date: Thursday, Dec. 26th
Kick-off: 15:00 BST / 10:00 EST
Location: St. James’ Park, Newcastle (England)
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