The last six encounters between Aston Villa and Newcastle United had averaged 4.17 goals per game – so, almost inevitably, this one ended goalless.
From Newcastle’s strikerless struggles to some defensive contribution (DC) successes, here are the key takeaways from Villa Park.
KONSA BAN: HOW MANY MATCHES WILL HE MISS?
Fantasy Premier League’s (FPL) sixth-most-owned defender is out of Gameweek 2.
Ezri Konsa (£4.5m), selected by over 22% of Fantasy managers, will miss Aston Villa’s trip to Brentford, having been sent off in Saturday’s stalemate with Eddie Howe’s side.
The centre-back brought down Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) when the winger-cum-striker was clean through on goal, with even Unai Emery saying afterwards that he could have no complaints.
#AVLNEW – 65’
The referee’s call of red card to Konsa for the denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity (DOGSO) was checked and confirmed by VAR.
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) August 16, 2025
The denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity (DOGSO) only carries a one-match ban, at least. Konsa will be back for Crystal Palace in Gameweek 3, then.
EVERYTHING BUT THE GOAL
Often, a dismissal can distort match statistics. On most occasions, a 10 v 11 is going to result in a retreat from the team numerically disadvantaged.
But make no mistake, Newcastle were the dominant side before Konsa’s dismissal.
“We are not happy when we are losing two points at home. But because of how the match went, more or less, they maybe even deserved more because they had better chances than us.” – Unai Emery, via Birmingham Live
The Magpies were 8-0 up on shots at the interval, with a brief second-half rally from the hosts snuffed out by Konsa’s red card.
Newcastle had defensive dominance, midfield supremacy and pace in attack – just no lethal touch up top.
Had there been an Alexander Isak (£10.5m), a Yoane Wissa (£7.5m) or, heck, maybe even a Callum Wilson (£6.0m) up front, we’d probably have been reflecting on a Newcastle win.
As it was, makeshift striker Gordon did his best in a dynamic front three that caused Villa problems early on, especially. Gordon, Harvey Barnes (£7.0m) and Anthony Elanga (£7.0m), preferred to Jacob Murphy (£6.5m), combined for 12 shots, with Gordon taking seven of them:
As the xGI suggests, Elanga had the best chance of all – an early one-on-one that the Swede spurned. Elanga also set Gordon away with a superb pass in the incident that led to Konsa’s sending off.
Some good-looking signs from the Toon – now go buy a striker.
“He plays it uniquely to him. He’s less of a focal point and more of a drifter across the pitch. But he’s got pace and he runs in behind and he causes teams problems in that respect.” – Eddie Howe on Anthony Gordon
“Really good. Really, really good. I thought he was direct. Showed real quality, as well, with that directness. Yeah, he looks like a player who will elevate us.” – Eddie Howe on Anthony Elanga
BURN A TRANSFER?
New signing Malick Thiaw (£5.0m) was on the bench for the Magpies, along with the not-quite-match-fit Lewis Hall (£5.5m) and Sven Botman (£5.0m).
Those three are the future of Newcastle’s defence but 30-somethings Dan Burn (£5.0m) and Fabian Schar (£5.5m) won’t be budged on this form yet.
Nullifying Villa, they both racked up defensive contribution (DC) points. Burn also nabbed two bonus points for a double-digit haul.
Above: The players at Villa Park who bagged defensive contribution points
Burn, if you didn’t know, was Newcastle’s top-performing defender for DC points in 2024/25.
Tino Livramento (£5.0m) scooped the top bonus, creating a couple of chances from left-back.
ASTON VANILLA
Morgan Rogers (£7.0m), into Ollie Watkins (£9.0m), shot on goal. It was the combination play that many FPL managers were hoping for, with each boasting double-digit ownerships.
But it took 64 minutes for that to happen – a Watkins shot saved – and it happened only once.
Perhaps the line-up was a contributing factor. Villa didn’t start with their most progressive passer at centre-half, Pau Torres (£4.5m), nor did they start with the swift, attacking Ian Maatsen (£4.5m) at left-back. Compared to the corresponding fixture last season, they had an extra midfield spoiler in the shape of Amadou Onana (£5.0m) rather than a Marco Asensio type.
Donyell Malen (£5.5m) was only an 84th-minute substitute, while Emi Buendia (£5.5m) and Evann Guessand (£6.5m) were unused.
A dearth of creativity, then, but hopefully a new body or two will arrive in attack and Emery may go bolder in the fixtures ahead. Newcastle, indeed, was probably the toughest test of the first seven Gameweeks:
