Aston Villa hosts Newcastle in an English Premier League matchday 2 fixture between two clubs that lost in their opening matches of the season. Aston Villa opened its regular season with a 3-2 loss on Saturday to Watford, who was newly promoted from the Championship league. Saturday's loss was the first match that Aston Villa played without Jack Grealish, who signed with Manchester City.
Danny Ings and John McGinn each scored for Villa in the second half. Villa will play several matches to end August, begin September with tough fixtures and this will be an important match to pick up points knowing they have a tough road ahead when facing the likes of Chelsea, Everton and Manchester United over the next month.
Newcastle opened its 2021-21 English Premier League campaign with a 4-2 loss on its home pitch to West Ham United. The Magpies were ahead 1-0 as well as 2-1 but West Ham scored three consecutive goals during the second half to take all three points on the road. Newcastle invested heavily when acquiring Joe Willock this past summer and need to make more personnel moves before the transfer window closes.
Newcastle will also have plenty of action ahead, playing in the EFL Cup next week before ending the month of August at home against Southampton. The Magpies start September with a visit to Manchester United and therefore also need to pick up points on Saturday when visiting Aston Villa. Last season Newcastle was able to earn points in 10 of its 19 away matches in the EPL.
