Unai Emery and Eddie Howe will both be happy with referee booking for Aston Villa vs Newcastle
Aston Villa face a tough test against Newcastle United in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Unai Emery‘s side welcome Eddie Howe‘s men to Villa Park on Saturday evening, with both teams looking to keep their Wembley dreams alive.
Aston Villa beat Tottenham 2-1 in the third round of the FA Cup, whilst the Magpies required penalties to triumph over Bournemouth after playing out a 3-3 draw.
Villa are the more in-form team coming into the game, having lost just once in their last six in all competitions, whilst Newcastle have won just one from their last six in all competitions.
Aston Villa have strong record with Chris Kavanagh in the middle
The honour of refereeing this heavyweight FA Cup clash on Saturday tea time goes to Chris Kavanagh.
Kavanagh, 40, has been a Premier League referee since 2017, and had previously officiated in both the EFL and National League prior to being promoted to the top flight.
He’s also been a FIFA listed referee since 2019, qualifying him to take charge of games at international level and enabling him to wear an emblem on his shirt to mark that achievement.
So, the match looks to be in very capable hands with Kavanagh, and Aston Villa won’t mind his booking at all either.
That’s because, as detailed by Aston Villa Statto on X, Villa haven’t lost any of their last four games in all competitions with Kavanagh as referee.
Kavanagh’s most recent Villa game was the 1-0 win over Wolves on 30 November last year.
The other three games in this time period are: 3-0 FA Cup quarter-final win over Preston (30 March, 2025), a 2-2 draw with Arsenal (18 January, 2025) and a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth (26 October, 2024) respectively.
Why Newcastle will also be happy with Kavanagh in charge
However, Kavanagh’s booking won’t only put a smile on Aston Villa faces.
Indeed, Kavanagh has never shown a single red card to a Newcastle player in the 34 games he’s refereed the Magpies for in his career.
In fact, the Toon are the team Kavanagh has been the man in the middle for the most out of anyone in his career, with 29 Liverpool games being the next club that has had the Manchester-born official the most.
Newcastle have won 15 of their 34 games he’s been in charge of, whilst Kavanagh has taken 21 Aston Villa matches, with the Villans winning eight of those.
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