BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton has been forthcoming with some interesting comments on Eddie Howe and Newcastle United speaking ahead of Thursday afternoon at St James’ Park.
Eddie Howe and his Newcastle United players are looking to make it four wins in a row after scoring eleven goals with three dominant performances overwhelming Leicester, Brentford and Ipswich this past week.
Sutton spoke on BBC Sport: “Newcastle seem to be hitting a bit of form – as I predicted, although I don’t like to mention it – and Alexander Isak looks unstoppable at the moment.
“It just shows that people should never write off Magpies manager Eddie Howe.
“Aston Villa were comfortable in their win against Manchester City on Saturday, and I love what Morgan Rogers is doing for them this season.
“Villa manager Unai Emery has a nice headache up front, to choose between Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran, and it means they have always got goals in them.
“It is Newcastle I am going with here, though.
“They seem to be building real momentum although I guess there is the risk I am reading too much into them being so comfortable against little Ipswich Town at the weekend.
“They were ruthless against little Ipswich at Portman Road and I think they will be ruthless at home against Villa too.
“Prediction: Newcastle 3 Aston Villa 1”
It’s beginning to look like the whole Newcastle United inconsistency issue has been massively overplayed, at least when it comes to this season’s Premier League teams, with only Liverpool showing anything like consistency.
In domestic competitions, Newcastle United have now won 11 and lost five (Villa have won nine and lost six in domestic competitions this season).
Only Liverpool (15) and Arsenal (12) have won more domestic matches this season than NUFC.
Whilst only Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea have lost less domestic games than Newcastle.
Interesting as well to look at the last ten matches Newcastle United and Aston Villa have played in domestic competitions (Premier League and Carabao Cup this season:
Newcastle United: Played 10 Won 6 Drawn 2 Lost 2
Aston Villa: Played 10 Won 3 Drawn 2 Lost 5
Ahead of the 4-0 win at Ipswich, Chris Sutton predicted a narrow 2-1 win for Eddie Howe and said this:
“Newcastle are 12th and have been very average at times, but they strike me as being a team who are in a false position, compared to what they are capable of.
“The busy Christmas period could change the look of the table dramatically, and a couple of wins could catapult someone towards the top four.
“Could that team be Newcastle?
“Yes, if they click…”
Well Eddie Howe certainly has his Newcastle United team clicking these past three matches, the question is, can that clicking keep going on a regular basis…?