Gary Neville makes Aston Villa prediction despite defeat v Newcastle on Sky Sports
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville expects Aston Villa to “cause a lot of damage” to teams this season with Moussa Diaby and Ollie Watkins in attack, despite losing heavily to Newcastle United.
The Villans suffered their heaviest-ever opening Premier League defeat as they were on the end of a 5-1 thrashing at St James’ Park on Saturday [12 August].
Summer signing Diaby had temporarily levelled up the contest for Villa after converting a pass from Watkins, but Newcastle blew away their opponents from that point on.
However, speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast on Sunday [13 August, 11m 40s], the Manchester United legend tried to put a positive spin on a disappointing evening for Unai Emery’s side.
“I thought Newcastle were outstanding,” he said. “I was impressed with Villa for parts of the game as well. That sounds daft when a team has got beat 5-1.
“[Newcastle] were up against an Aston Villa team that will beat a lot of teams this year and cause a lot of damage, because I thought Diaby and Watkins up front looked a real handful at times.”
Solace
Villa had been tipped by some to build on last season and potentially challenge for a top-four spot this season under impressive head coach Emery, but the early indications suggest that will be far from the case.
The West Midlands side were ripped apart by Newcastle at the weekend, with the only real caveat being that centre-back Tyrone Mings was substituted off at 2-1 as Villa’s injury list grows.
Rather incredibly given the nature of the outcome, Villa only had one attempt less than their opponents (16 v 17), but the Magpies proved far more precise with their efforts.
As pointed out by Neville, though, Watkins and Diaby did show signs of promise on their first competitive start together, best epitomised by the latter’s well-taken 11th-minute strike.
Watkins’ quality is already well known to Villa supporters and Premier League viewers alike, having netted 15 goals in 37 top-flight appearances last season.
Diaby scored nine goals and assisted another eight in 33 Bundesliga games for Leverkusen last time out, meanwhile, and has already been capped 10 times by France at senior level.
Emery will need to work on his side’s set-up after being caught high up the pitch countless times by Newcastle, but he can at least take some solace from the fact he boasts one of the best attacking duo’s in the division.
In other Aston Villa news, the Villans are reportedly open to offers for three first-team players.