NEWCASTLE UNITED will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League to eight matches when they square off with Aston Villa at St James' Park on Saturday afternoon.
Geordie football fever has reached a new peak of excitement following the Toons' 2-1 triumph at Tottenham last Sunday, on an afternoon where all three of my recommended bets landed in North London.
That well-deserved victory lifted Newcastle into a Champions League position in the top-flight table and it has also left the St James' Park faithful daring to dream about a return to the top table of European football for the first time in 19 years.
Eddie Howe's team will now set out to tighten their grip on a much-coveted top-four spot with a victory over Aston Villa this weekend.
After parting company with Steven Gerrard last week, interim manager Aaron Danks steered the Villians to a morale-boosting 4-0 win over Brentford last Sunday.
The Villa hierarchy haven't wasted any time in appointing a new manager, with Unai Emery set to take the reins early next week after work permit formalities are completed.
Outright Betting
Newcastle, who have lost just one of their last 17 Premier League home games, head into this game as odds-on 5/6 favourites with William Hill.
Aston Villa have failed to triumph in each of their last seven top-flight road trips and the bookies' odds suggest those away day blues could be set to continue, with a Villa victory trading at 7/2 (Betfred) while the stalemate pays 11/4 (SBK) with the same firm.
Betting Angles
Newcastle will no doubt find themselves on plenty of accumulators this weekend but I'm going to opt for an alternative angle via the Bet Builder market by merging over zero Newcastle goals, over four Newcastle corners and over zero Aston Villa cards at 4/5 (Bet 365).
As already mentioned, St James' Park has been somewhat of a fortress during Eddie Howe's Toon tenure, with Newcastle tasting defeat just once on home turf this calendar year.
What's more, the Magpies have made the net bulge in a sizeable 16 of their 18 Premier League home games under Howe's watch and they should get more joy in front of goal when faced with an Aston Villa side that have just one clean to their name in six top-flight road trips this term.
As such, I'm more than happy to back in-form Newcastle to fire in at least one goal on Saturday, but to nudge up the odds, I'll also go with over four Newcastle corners.
Eddie Howe's hosts have been prominent corner performers in the Premier League this season, averaging 7.42 flag kicks per-game, a tally that increases to a league-high 9.00 at St James' Park.
I'll conclude the 4/5 (Bet 365) Bet Builder by backing Aston Villa, who are averaging 2.17 cards per-game this term, to pick up at least one booking during this dust-up.
Newcastle have drawn at least one card from 11 of their 12 Premier League opponents this season and I expect that sequence to continue here with a raucous home crowd behind them.
I'll also dip into the To Score Or Assist market where the 3/1 (PaddyPower ) on Newcastle's Miguel Almirón looks a little too big to ignore.
Having scored five goals in as many games for the Magpies, the Paraguayan's purple patch in front of goal is showing no signs of slowing down so he looks worthy of some interest to have goal involvement here at an enticing price.
This English Premier League match between Newcastle United and Aston Villa will be played on Oct 29, 2022 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Newcastle United vs Aston Villa prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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