Aston Villa will be looking to end an 18-year streak when they begin their 2023-24 Premier League campaign against Newcastle United on Saturday evening.
Expectations are at their highest at Villa Park for over a decade after Unai Emery guided the club to a seventh-placed finish last season.
As a result, the West Midlands outfit are currently looking forward to participating in the Europa Conference League playoffs, but there is also hope that they can challenge for a place in the top six this campaign.
Villa have been presented with one of the toughest possible fixtures to commence the season with Newcastle looking to build on finishing fourth during 2022-23.
Emery will be confident that Villa can deliver a statement performance and result at St James' Park having blown Newcastle away in their most recent meeting on April 15.
A 3-0 victory on home territory ultimately proved key in their efforts to edge out Tottenham Hotspur for European qualification on the final day of the season, yet Villa have fared differently on their visits to the North East.
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Newcastle have put together a 14-game undefeated streak in Premier League fixtures against Villa at St James' Park, a record that has spanned 18 years.
Not since the 2004-05 campaign have Villa prevailed in a top-flight encounter versus the Magpies, that 3-0 triumph being best remembered for the fight between Newcastle teammates Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer.
Most recently, Newcastle ran out 4-0 winners on October 29, Callum Wilson's double being followed by goals from Joelinton and Miguel Almiron.
Ahmed Elmohamady was the last Villa player to score a goal at St James' Park back on June 2020, among the early matches during the coronavirus pandemic.
A total of 277 minutes have passed by since that strike, although Villa did earn a 1-1 draw in March 2021 when Newcastle defender Ciaran Clark netted an owned goal.
Villa are also aiming to record back-to-back league victories over Newcastle for the first time since the aforementioned 3-0 success back on April 2, 2005.
Darren Plant
