Newcastle United began the Premier League season in solid if unspectacular fashion on Saturday.
Indeed, Newcastle drew 0-0 with Aston Villa to begin their Premier League campaign on a relatively positive note after a difficult summer.
Newcastle really should have won the game and will have been disappointed not to have taken all three points, particularly after Villa defender Ezri Konsa was sent off.
Still, for Eddie Howe’s side to look so coherent after a summer transfer window that has sometimes bordered on being a farce was an impressive response.
Granted, Villa are not at their strongest after an equally testing few months. However, few would bet against them given all that Unai Emery has done since taking over the Birmingham giants.
Considering Emery’s record in charge at Villa, teams who finish higher than them in the Premier League table this season will likely be pushing towards the upper echelons.
Former Newcastle goalkeeper Shaka Hislop is backing Howe’s side to do exactly that.
Unai Emery and Eddie Howe on the touchline during Aston Villa vs Newcastle United in the Premier League.
Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images
Shaka Hislop predicts Newcastle United to finish higher than Aston Villa
Hislop, who now works as a pundit for ESPN, was asked to name who he thought would finish higher between the two teams after watching the draw at Villa Park.
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While Hislop did admit that bias towards his former club could be playing a factor in his decision, he predicted that Newcastle will finish higher.
“My bias aside, or maybe my bias turned up to the max, I still think Newcastle do,” he said.
“As I mentioned, there’s still a lot of dust that needs to settle between now and the end of the transfer window. If [Alexander] Isak goes, I think Newcastle find someone who becomes their focus and they get the job done.
“I look at Villa and the names on that team sheet and you feel Villa are going to be at the very least, very close to Newcastle. That’s me being kind.
“But as I say, I’m nothing if I’m not biased.”
Where Opta has predicted Newcastle United to finish this season
Opta’s supercomputer has predicted that Newcastle will finish sixth in the Premier League table, and it’s certainly worth considering.
Last season, Opta got their prediction right. They predicted Newcastle would finish fifth and that eventually proved to be the case.
Sixth, at this point, would have to be considered a good return. Perhaps expectations would be lifted if Newcastle resolve the Alexander Isak situation and sign a few new players.
Until that point, however, to finish sixth this season after such a bruising summer would be a positive as long as there are impressive runs in the Champions League and domestic cups.