Paul Merson forgets to do his research during Newcastle vs Aston Villa prediction 

Paul Merson is backing Newcastle to come away with a 3-1 win against Aston Villa today, but it's fair to say the football 'expert' hasn't done his research ahead of this one.

The Sky Sports pundit seems to forget that new manager Unai Emery wont be on the touch-line for Villa's game at St James’ Park, as he goes on to question whether the Spaniard will "have enough time" to get them looking "solid" ahead of their trip to Tyneside.

Despite confirmation of Emery's appointment earlier this week, the 50-year-old won’t take charge of first-team duties until 1st November as he's waiting for a work permit - a key detail Merson has missed out completely during his prediction!

Even so, he's still backing Newcastle to come away with a comfortably win, feeling we're "playing as well as anybody" after outplaying Spurs last Sunday.

Speaking to Sportskeeda, here's what he's had to say:

“If Aston Villa's players turn up, this will be a good game. They turned it one against Brentford last week. Unai Emery will try to get them to be solid in his first game, but I don't think he'll have enough time.

“Emery's a good appointment for Aston Villa. He's worked in the Premier League before with a big football club, and he knows his opponents. He's left a very good team in Villarreal - we saw that last year. If you want to win La Liga, you need to beat Villarreal - they're one of those teams. This appointment is a big coup for Aston Villa.

“Newcastle are playing as well as anybody at the moment. They outplayed Tottenham last week, and they've been absolutely outstanding this season. Newcastle should be able to win this game.”

Prediction: Newcastle United 3-1 Aston Villa

For someone who is supposed to be an expert on the game, Merson needs to start doing his research; not that we'll be complaining if his 3-1 prediction comes true!