Good Morning,
From Villa’s heroic (but heartbreaking) comeback in Europe to Everton maybe... actually being good? We’ve got you covered in today’s PL pregame news. Let’s dive in.
-Gabe

Matches

🔥 Headline Match: Aston Villa vs. Newcastle United

🏟️ Villa Park | 🕠 5:30 PM BST / 9:30 AM PT​

🦁 Aston Villa: Bouncing Back: Villa went toe-to-toe with French powerhouse PSG midweek in the Champions League quarters, storming back from 2–0 down to win 3–2. It wasn’t enough to overturn the aggregate, but Unai Emery’s side can hold their heads high. Now, just one point behind fifth-placed Manchester City, Villa will be hungry for a result today as the season is ticking away. From here on out, perfection is a must…(no pressure).

🖤 Newcastle: Winning Streak: The Magpies also had a short week after absolutely DE-STROYING Palace 5-0 on Wednesday. To say Newcastle are in fine form is soft serving it, they are red hot and looking to add to their current winning streak which is currently sitting at 6 games.

• Last time out: Newcastle won 3-0, Villa played with 10 men for the last hour.

• Dynamic Duo? Rashford and Acensio or RashCensio have a total of 8 goals and 4 assists between them. Not a bad haul for being only 2 months into a new team.

Watch For: Expect an all-action midfield battle as both sides bring firepower up front and steel in the center. The key matchup? Tonali vs. McGinn. Two high-energy playmakers who can win the ball, spark counters, and shift momentum in a seconds.

⚽ Elsewhere in the League:

Brentford vs. Brighton
Sitting in 11th and 10 respectively, last weekend was a tale of two ties for both teams. Brentford with a respectable 1-1 tie to the gunners, and Brighton with a disappointing 2-2 tie to Leicester. As the saying goes, “it’s not what you tie its WHO you tie.”

Crystal Palace vs. Bournemouth
🎵 Face down in the dirrrrt, Palace said, this doesn’t hurrrrt… 🎵
Well, their midweek loss definitely did. Bournemouth, one of three teams logjammed at 48 points mid-table, will look to pile on the pain. Palace have conceded 10 goals in their last two matches, yikes.

Everton vs. Manchester City
Ummm… guys… is Everton… good?
Short answer: yeah, kinda. Fresh off their biggest win of the season against Forest, Toffees have already outperformed any expectations for Moyes’ return. His side has only lost 2 of his 13 games in charge. But today they host a City team clawing for a Champions League spot. Haaland’s out, staying humble with an injury, but his replacement Marmoush is stepping up with 6 goals in his first 10 Premier League matches.

West Ham vs. Southampton
West Ham have been steadily sliding down the table in recent weeks, but the freefall bottomed out finally. Fourteen points clear of the drop, they now face already-relegated Southampton, who, yes, still need two points to avoid the worst points total in Premier League history.

Extra Slice

*Trigger warning for defenders.*

Listen to Gary Neville talk about the number of passes PL Defenders make.

Spoiler Alert, too many.

📈 Table