Opposition Opinion: Newcastle vs Aston Villa - "I'm increasingly confident"

Villa supporter David is backing his side to win 2-1 at St James' Park, with our recent defeats at Coventry and Leeds giving him growing confidence ahead of Saturday's game.

For this week's Opposition Opinion, we spoke to David from My Old Man Said about Villa's rebuild under Unai Emery, their new attacking threats and where both teams could be vulnerable. He also has a short-term loan request...

How would you sum up Villa's season so far? After a difficult league start, does the 6-0 win over Fenerbahce feel like a turning point, and what would represent a successful season now?

If there was ever an advert for the transfer window needing to close before the season started, I think Villa provided it this season. Because of the late transfer activity and Ollie Watkins not making himself available, our opening game against Brighton was a farce. We didn't have a striker to field. Several of our main new signings also weren't fit for the first few weeks of the season.

While it's well known we've had a dramatic rebuild, what many outside the club have failed to realise is that it takes time to bed all these players (once they've finally been available) into Unai Emery's structure. They are very much learning on the job every game, so a stuttering start was expected. Like last season, Villa should finish stronger than they start.

The 6-0 win over Fenerbahçe was more a good night than a turning point, against a team that didn't press us and ran out of gas.

In terms of success? A decent run in the Champions League and qualifying for European football again. This is Unai Emery's 19th consecutive season playing in European competition. It's his lifeblood, so despite all the player changes, he'll be focused on continuing this run.

There's been a big rebuild at Villa this summer. How do you rate the business, and which departure has been hardest to replace?

It's still too early to call, as many of the new players are just starting to feature, but the early signs are very promising. As well as replacing departures, Emery clearly also had a mandate, in his own mind, to evolve and improve the team.

You can already put a big tick next to the names of Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and Zion Suzuki. So that's Emi Martínez, Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins replaced, without even blinking. That gives the team a huge platform to kick on from.

The hardest player to replace looks like Ezri Konsa. Emery has said that Victor Lindelöf is replacing him, despite signing Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who isn't even in the Premier League matchday squads yet. Lindelöf and Torres, as a centre-back partnership, are fine in the early stages of the Champions League, but there are question marks about whether it's robust enough for the Premier League week in, week out, while Mings is potentially past his best.

Who's been your standout player so far, and who is your unsung hero?

So far, Suzuki has been the standout, as there was a concern over whether Villa could replace Emi Martínez. His distribution is now an intrinsic part of how Villa can play. After a few more games, Manzambi will probably be the answer to this question.

The unsung hero is Lindelöf. He was a free-transfer utility player nobody expected much from, but last season he covered midfield injuries and played defensive midfield through the later stages of Villa's Europa League win. This season he's been dependable at centre-back, with Villa's defensive frailty more about their organisation as a team and frequent line-up changes.

How do you expect Villa to approach this game? Where could you hurt Newcastle, and where might we cause you problems?

Emery's current focus is sorting out Villa's defensive structure, knowing we have added speed, directness and options to be effective in transition now, especially on our travels. So Villa might not defend as high as they have tended to under Emery.

The main danger for Newcastle will be Jackson and Manzambi's link-up with the pace of Mbaye, if he starts. If Newcastle are without the likes of Elanga, Touré, Livramento and Ramsey, and short of genuine options on the flanks, that will certainly help Villa.

Where Newcastle could hurt Villa is the left-back area. Maatsen and Ruggeri are injured and the very right-footed Wan-Bissaka is deputising there, so runners like Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy are the worry. Villa also still leak goals, and St James' Park will test a defence still settling.

If you could bring one Newcastle player into this Villa side, who would you choose and why?

Lewis Hall, on loan for a few weeks. With both Maatsen and Ruggeri injured at the moment, Villa haven't got a fit left-footer in the position. I would have said Malick Thiaw, to replace Konsa, but you've been shipping goals in recent games.

Finally, what's your score prediction?

I have respect for Newcastle at St James' Park, given some of the slappings Villa have taken there in recent years, so normally I would have low expectations. But after some of the players you lost in the summer and your recent games against Coventry and Leeds, I'm increasingly confident Villa can follow up what they did last year at your place.

We've been better away this season, so I'll go 2-1 to Villa.

Villa's left-back problems give us an area to target, but David's confidence is understandable given our recent defensive problems. We need to be much harder to play through and make sure their patched-up defence has plenty to deal with.

Thanks to David for his time. For more Villa coverage and the podcast, head over to My Old Man Said.