Unai Emery and Eddie Howe cancelled each other out and Aston Villa vs Newcastle ended in a dull 0-0.
Liverpool and Bournemouth got the 2025-26 Premier League started with a thrilling game last Friday, with the Reds coming out on top with a 4-2 win. The Aston Villa vs Newcastle game that followed, however, wasn’t nearly as fun to watch.
It was one of those matches in which you’re waiting for the managers to get their feet off the brakes and allow the team to attack with little caution. But that wasn’t the case as neither team ever got going, apart from the odd half-chance here and there.
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Anthony Elanga was the exception, though. He had a great opportunity worth 0.48 xG to put the Magpies up 1-0 just over two minutes in and score in his debut, but didn’t place his shot well enough and saw it saved by Marco Bizot.
Villa’s new signing and goalkeeper for the day (as Emiliano Martínez was suspended), by the way, was probably man of the match. He already looks like a much more solid back-up option than Robin Olsen.
The other attempts credited as big chances weren’t as clear-cut, adding context. Anthony Gordon’s awkward header was worth 0.36 xG, but the ball came almost behind his body. And, being fair, a shifty winger helping out as a number nine isn’t really expected to score from that.
Aston Villa’s only big chance was also a header, from Boubacar Kamara – though it was worth only 0.05 xG. The Frenchman’s miss can’t be held against him.
Conservative approach from Unai Emery and Eddie Howe
Both managers showed a very cautious style in one way or another in this game. Unai Emery started the game with both Kamara and Amadou Onana in midfield and Youri Tielemans ahead of them as a number 10.
That decision ended up costing them in build-ups, seeing as they couldn’t progress with the ball on the ground. Tielemans is the one who usually carries the team forward from the back, but wasn’t there to play this role today.
There was even a 10 or 15-minute stretch in which Villa couldn’t even cross the halfway line. That led to them almost equalling their per-game total in long balls attempted from the 2024-25 season (37.8) in the first half alone (28).
Newcastle were the dominant side in the first 45 minutes, but realised that the hosts had nothing to threaten them with when they had their defence set. Villa would eventually swing the ball to the sides and either get a cross off that Fabian Schar and Dan Burn would clear out or fail a forced through ball.
And that’s what Eddie Howe seems to have leaned on in the second half. Emery didn’t make a single substitution or tweak to the formation, adjusting only their posture. Villa showed more will to occupy the attacking half and Newcastle, strategically, accepted with no resistance.
Lack of true changes
When Ezri Konsa was sent off, Newcastle regained control of the match but couldn’t turn that into true superiority. Their first change came in the 78th minute, when Jacob Murphy replaced Elanga.
Unless it was for physical reasons, the debutant should’ve stayed on. He did miss the biggest chance in the game, but was far more impactful than Harvey Barnes. Five minutes later, he brought on Lewis Miley for Joelinton.
The first and only structural change came in the 90th minute, when actual striker William Osula came on for Barnes. But it was too little, too late for it to have any sort of impact on the game.
All things considered, Aston Villa will certainly be happier with the 0-0 draw than Newcastle, considering they ended the game with 10 men. But the situation wasn’t pretty before that, with the Magpies outshooting them 8 to 2 when it was 11 vs 11.