The two biggest teams in the Championship meet this weekend. We look back at five memorable meetings from the Premier League era between Newcastle United and Aston Villa.
Newcastle United 4-3 Aston Villa (30th September 1996)
Dwight Yorke opened the scoring heading in from an early Aston Villa corner. That lead didn’t last long, however, as Newcastle’s Les Ferdinand turned home Alan Shearer’s shot. Ferdinand then put the Magpies ahead with a leaping header from Keith Gillespie’s cross. St James Park was on its feet once again when Alan Shearer capitalised on Villa’s failure to clear a corner. At 3-1 down things got worse for Villa, when Mark Draper was sent-off for a second yellow.
Being down to ten men didn’t stop Yorke. The forward finished off a wonderful solo effort to pull Aston Villa back into the game. Another Gillespie cross set up Steve Howey for his first goal of the season which eased the pressure on a nervy Newcastle. Shortly after, Yorke sprung the offside trap and grabbed his hat-trick goal. He almost leveled the game with a fourth, but this time the Villa man was ruled offside.
Aston Villa 4-2 Newcastle United (28th August 2004)
Sir Bobby Robson dropped Alan Shearer to the bench for Newcastle’s trip to Villa Park. The home side took the lead when Nolberto Solano’s corner was met by a bullet Olaf Melberg header. Patrick Kluivert equalised twenty-seven minutes into his Newcastle debut to bring his side level.
An Andy O’Brien header then put Newcastle ahead, but Villa fought back. Carlton Cole tapped home to bring Aston Villa level, and then Gareth Barry converted a Solano cross to put them ahead. Juan Pablo Angel’s deflected strike completed an impressive victory for David O’Leary’s team.
Newcastle United 0-3 Aston Villa (2nd April 2005)
Angel put Villa ahead, before Darius Vassell looked certain to double Villa’s advantage – but his shot was blocked on the line by Steven Taylor. The Newcastle defender comically tried to cover up his blatant handball, but the penalty was awarded and Barry scored from it. Newcastle’s frustrations were heightened when Villa were awarded another penalty. Barry grabbed his second from the spot to put Aston Villa three goals up.
However, the game will live in infamy thanks to a fight between Newcastle teammates Keiron Dyer and Lee Bowyer. Both men were sent-off to end a miserable afternoon for Newcastle.
Aston Villa 1-0 Newcastle United (24th May 2009)
Aston Villa said farewell to Martin Laursen, as Newcastle said farewell to Premier League football. A Gareth Barry deflected strike saw Alan Shearer’s side relegated, and David Edgar’s sending-off capped off a day to forget for the Toon army. This game also sparked a rivalry between the two sets of supporters – which remains fierce heading into this weekend.
Newcastle United 6-0 Aston Villa (22nd August 2010)
Managerless Aston Villa could have taken the lead had John Carew not skied his early penalty. Villa and Carew rued that miss, as Newcastle stormed into a 3-0 half-time lead. A fantastic Joey Barton strike was followed up by goals from Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll.
Nolan grabbed another goal in the second-half for Chris Hughton’s side, but it was Carroll’s day. The big forward scored a hat-trick to hand the Magpies a 6-0 win on their return the top-flight.
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