Newcastle and Aston Villa are both rounding into form at exactly the same time, making their Boxing Day showdown — one with real Champions League implications — the best of a brilliant bunch of fixtures.
WATCH — Newcastle vs Aston Villa
Five points is all that stands between Newcastle (8th) and Nottingham Forest (4th), and the gap for Aston Villa (6th) is just three points. Throw in four-time defending champions Manchester City and two top-half newbies in Forest and Bournemouth, and we have the makings of a sensational top-4 race in the Premier League.
Newcastle are winners of two straight (4-0 in each) and Alexander Isak has been virtually unplayable (4 goals, 1 assist), but the real story is the back-to-back clean sheets. Prior to beating Leicester and Ipswich, Eddie Howe’s side gave up 10 goals in 4 games and won just 2 points as a result. Now, star defender Sven Botman is close to returning from a torn ACL and the Magpies look like a real contender. Villa, meanwhile, looked back to their annoying, pesky best as they beat Man City 2-1 on Saturday. They made possession a constant struggle for the spiraling champs and Morgan Rogers picked them apart (1 goal, 1 assist) on the counter with Jhon Duran also on the scoresheet again.
How to watch Newcastle vs Aston Villa live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 10 am ET Thursday (December 26)
Venue: St. James’ Park — Newcastle
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
Newcastle team news, focus
OUT: Nick Pope (knee), Emil Krafth (shoulder), Callum Wilson (thigh), Jamaal Lascelles (knee) | QUESTIONABLE: Joelinton (head), Sven Botman (knee)
Aston Villa team news, focus
OUT: Jacob Ramsey (thigh)
Newcastle vs Aston Villa prediction
These are two teams that are better, the more open and adventurous they are. Not only does no one want to see a cagey tactical battle, but it suits neither side whatsoever. Give the people what they want. Newcastle 3-3 Aston Villa.
