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Aston Villa won 1-0 at Newcastle United in Matchweek 7, Johan Manzambi scoring the only goal in the 36th minute. Manzambi had reportedly been heading to Newcastle before Villa swooped late, so this was a pointed way to settle the argument. Newcastle improved after the break but couldn't find a way through, and Sven Botman escaped a red card after a VAR look at a foul on Nicolas Jackson. That's back-to-back defeats for Matthias Jaissle's side, following the 4-1 hammering at Coventry, and the home crowd were not thrilled. Villa lift themselves to 8 points from seven games and out of the bottom five; Newcastle stay stuck on 8 and are drifting the wrong way.
Pre-match Talking Points
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1Matchweek 7 and nobody is exactly flying. Newcastle are 10th on 8 points with a goal difference of minus 3, and they have shipped 12 goals in six games, one of the leakiest defences in the division. Villa are 17th on 5 points with a single win all season, and they sit just one point above the bottom three. Win and Newcastle crawl towards the top half; lose and Villa are looking nervously downwards.
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2Newcastle have won more league games against Villa than against any other club in their history, 71 in all, 24 of them in the Premier League. The recent record is closer, though. Villa went five meetings unbeaten against Newcastle at one stage, including a couple of 1-1 draws at St James' Park. Slightly awkward fact for the home fans, who like to think of this as a fixture they own.
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3Keep an eye on Morgan Rogers. Villa's attacking midfielder was reportedly wanted by Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United last summer, which tells you what the big clubs think of him. Villa need goals from somewhere, with only 7 scored in six games, and he is the one most likely to conjure one out of nothing.
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4The subplot is Villa under Unai Emery. Emery's sides are usually tidy and hard to beat, and one win from six is very far from that. It is early, but Villa are not a club that expects to be 17th in October. Newcastle's problem is the reverse: they score fine, but they cannot stop conceding. Something has to give, and the early money says goals.
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5Here is the hook. Both teams are well below where they would have hoped to be, so this is a proper six-pointer dressed up as a mid-table game. Newcastle and Villa were both pushing for the Champions League places not so long ago. Whoever wins gets to tell everyone the season is fine really. Whoever loses starts getting uncomfortable questions in the press room.
Team Talking Points
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1Newcastle's last game was a 1-1 draw at Fulham. Jacob Murphy scored a 25-yard screamer, and it lasted all of three minutes before Rodrigo Muniz equalised. Muniz hadn't scored in 15 months, which made it extra annoying.
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2They also had a Dan Burn goal ruled out after VAR spotted a foul by Yoane Wissa in the build-up. Manager Matthias Jaissle called it 'soft' and said his side did enough to win. Agree that it was soft and you'll make a friend for life.
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3Jaissle also called the draw 'a step in the right direction after the last performance'. That tells you the last performance wasn't great. Newcastle sit roughly mid-table on 12 points from 10 games, about four points clear of the drop zone and four off the top six.
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4That puts them in a very Premier League kind of limbo: not in trouble, not in contention. A couple of wins and the talk is Europe. A couple of defeats and people start looking nervously over their shoulders.
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5The first game back after the break is a big one. Leaders Arsenal visit St James' Park on Saturday 21 November. A win there would change the mood around the club overnight, and fans know it.
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Top thing to say down the pub
If VAR hadn't chalked off Dan Burn's goal at Fulham, we'd be talking about the top six, not 'a step in the right direction'.
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Avoid saying
"Newcastle are the richest club in the world, they should be winning everything." Fans have heard it a thousand times. Spending rules mean the money hasn't turned into the trophy-a-season machine people imagine, so you'll get a long lecture on profit and sustainability.
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1Villa's last game was one of the maddest of the season: they led Manchester United 4-2 at Old Trafford with the clock deep into stoppage time and still only drew 4-4, after United scored twice in added time. It's the kind of result that feels like a defeat even though it technically isn't.
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2Unai Emery walked down the touchline towards the tunnel before the final whistle after a quick handshake with Michael Carrick, and then had to defend it afterwards. He admitted he thought the game was over when United equalised. Mentioning the early exit is a safe bet for a knowing grimace.
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3Villa go into the international break 10th with 13 points from 10 games – three wins, four draws, three defeats. Since beating Manchester City they've failed to beat Bournemouth, Fulham, Barcelona or United and leaked 11 goals in that run. Emery's message is 'keep working on the defending', which is putting it mildly.
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4Emery himself is still focusing on the positives – he points to three wins and three draws in recent matches – but the question being asked around Villa Park is whether the team has stalled after several years of steady progress under him. Ask a Villa fan whether this is a blip or a ceiling and stand well back.
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5The good news: the table is tight. Villa are only five points off fifth-placed Chelsea, so a decent run after the break would change the mood completely. The bad news is that defending a two-goal lead for six minutes is apparently the hard part.
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Top thing to say down the pub
4-2 up at Old Trafford in stoppage time and Emery's already heading for the tunnel – and it still ends 4-4. That one's going to sting all international break.
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Avoid saying
"At least it's a point away at United" – technically true, emotionally inaccurate. Villa fans see it as two points chucked away, and you'll be the only person in the room calling it a good result.