Unai Emery looks raging towards an image of Eddie Howe in a circle
(Credit: Imago)
Max Wilkins
Tue 19 August 2025 18:44, UK
Aston Villa didn’t have their greatest day against Newcastle United.
The Villans struggled to truly land a glove on Eddie Howe’s side, ultimately scraping a goalless draw against Newcastle in B6.
A point was positive on the face of it after Ezri Konsa was sent off for Villa after a last-man foul on Anthony Gordon with over 20 minutes to go at Villa Park.
With that being said, criticism has still been levelled at Unai Emery as his side failed to impress on the opening day after a patchy pre-season.
This has since seen a stat from the Newcastle draw emerge for Villa, which showcases exactly what Emery has to work on at Bodymoor Heath for the rest of the campaign.
Unai Emery looks on in agitation.
Unai Emery watched his Aston Villa side struggle against Newcastle United (credit: Imago)
Newcastle stat proves clear Emery weakness
Against the Magpies, many members of the claret and blue faithful were surprised to see Donyell Malen be left out of the starting 11.
Instead, the Newcastle-linked John McGinn started with Morgan Rogers on the opposite flank, supporting Youri Tielemans in the number 10 role.
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This ultimately allowed the away side to have almost total control of the midfield through the dominant trio of Joelinton, Bruno Guimares and Sandro Tonali.
With that, there were a general lack of chances for the ball to be funnelled up to Ollie Watkins, resulting in just three Villa shots on target throughout the 90.
Stat Aston Villa Newcastle United
Possession (%) 40 60
Shots 3 16
Corners 3 6
Accurate passes 310 451
Aston Villa vs Newcastle United stats
This helped Newcastle to break a two-season-long record by conceding just 0.13 expected goals at Villa Park, highlighting just how poor the B6 club were on the day.
It is fair to say that this represents a glaring problem for the Villans and something that Emery has to fix moving further into the Premier League campaign.
Aston Villa need more creativity
There is no getting away from the fact that the attacking midfield three against the Magpies ultimately failed to lay a glove on Howe’s men.
This will only get worse against other sides, especially outfits like Brentford, who are next up and are more than comfortable in a low block.
As a result, the likes of Emi Buendia and Malen have to be trusted by Emery to have an impact in the on-field 11 moving forward.
Malen scored two in pre-season and put in some excellent performances
The Netherlands international was the only Villa substitute against Newcastle
He registered a shot on target in his six-minute cameo
Buendia was an unused substitute after also scoring two friendly goals this summer
There also has to be more faith put in summer signing from Nice, Evann Guessand, after he was left on the bench for the entire 90 against Newcastle.
These sorts of players have excellent qualities and can’t be ignored in favour of struggling in attacking areas, just as it was last time out at Villa Park.
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