Newcastle vs Aston Villa simulated to get Premier League score prediction

Aston Villa kick-off their 2023/24 Premier League campaign on Saturday when Unai Emery's side take on Newcastle at St. James' Park.

A fantastic second half of the season saw Villa surge up the Premier League table and claim a seventh-place finish last season, meaning Emery's side will take part in the Europa Conference League in the upcoming campaign. A promising transfer window saw Villa bring Pau Torres, Moussa Diaby and Youri Tielemans to the club, with the Villans looking to challenge for Europe once again.

The season starts with a tough trip north to Newcastle who will be looking to challenge for the top four for the second season running. The two met on Villa's pre-season tour in the United States last month, with the clash finishing 3-3.

So, could Villa pick up three points to start their Premier League season? Let's take a look...

We simulated Newcastle vs Aston Villa to get a score prediction

To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries, transfers and suspensions. FIFA 23 is not up to date with the latest kits or numbers, so both sides are in the kits from the 2022/23 season.

We predict that the Magpies could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Guimaraes, Joelinton, Longstaff; Almiron, Isak, Barnes.

We predict that Villa could line up in a 4-2-2-2 formation, with their line-up as follows: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Torres; Luiz, Kamara; McGinn, Bailey; Diaby, Watkins.

Villa started on the back foot with the hosts in control, and Newcastle took advantage, scoring with their first shot of the game as Alexander Isak curled one in off the post from just inside the box. The goal was a deserved one for the hosts, but in the 29th minute, Emery's side pulled one back.

Newcastle were really struggling to contain Villa's threat down the right, and a one-two between John McGinn and Matty Cash saw the latter skip past Dan Burn and fire a cross into the box. With the ball bouncing, Diaby met the cross with a well-timed finish, beating Nick Pope at his near post to make it 1-1.

Newcastle saw more of the ball than Villa with Emery's side focusing on not allowing the hosts to break through the midfield, and the visitors did a good job to contain the threat, with Douglas Luiz a standout. Villa continued to target Newcastle down the right whenever they went forward, and in the 68th minute, they scored an almost identical goal to the first to make go 2-1 ahead.

This time it was Diaby and McGinn linking up down the right, and it was the French winger who nutmegged Burn to break into the box and set off panic alarms in the Newcastle defence. Diaby picked out the run of Ollie Watkins, and the striker directed a volley across goal and into the far corner to complete the turnaround.

Newcastle pushed on to find a second goal and draw level, but Villa defended really well, shutting out any danger that the Magpies offered.

FIFA 23 predicted final score: Newcastle 1-2 Aston Villa

FIFA 23 predicts that Villa could pick up a huge three points to kick off their season, winning 2-1 in the simulation. Moussa Diaby caused all sorts of problems as the Frenchman grabbed a goal and assist, showing how much of an asset he could be for Emery's side this season.