Aston Villa boss Unai Emery says what he really thinks about Newcastle United after Jason Tindall message

Newcastle currently sit third in the Premier League table, five points ahead of Aston Villa in seventh. The Magpies travel to Villa Park on Saturday evening (5:30pm kick-off) looking to claim a seventh straight win in all competitions.

For Newcastle, it’s a chance to strengthen their grip on the Champions League qualification places while Villa will be looking for a win to close the gap and potentially climb into the top five.

Villa were knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage this week by Paris Saint-Germain, despite winning 3-2 on the night.

Emery’s side haven’t lost at home in the Premier League since August. Newcastle beat Villa 3-0 at St James’ Park back in December and won their previous trip to Villa Park 3-1 last January.

Unai Emery on Newcastle United

Emery believes Newcastle are the ‘favourites’ to qualify for the Champions League as they sit ahead of Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, Chelsea and Villa in the table with six games left to play. Maybe a bit of mind games ahead of the crucial clash, or maybe just an honest assessment of the Premier League table and form guide.

Looking ahead to Saturday’s match against Newcastle, Emery said: "The first step tomorrow. The first three points we will face against favourites to be in the top five, because they are now really performing very well, they are winning a lot of matches in a row, getting a lot of points.

"They are now in their best moment. They are performing very well, they are winning matches, they are feeling confident, they are feeling strong.

"They have five points more than us. It means a lot, how we are, how they are, how important is the match tomorrow.

"Still 18 points to play in [the] Premier League, and they have five five-point in advantage."

Following their Champions League exit, Villa have two crucial games in potentially deciding their top five fate. After facing Newcastle, Villa travel to fifth placed Manchester City on Tuesday night.

Follow the action from St James’ Park and beyond when you sign up for the Gazette’s free NUFC newsletter

Jason Tindall looks ahead to Aston Villa v Newcastle United

Newcastle assistant manager Jason Tindall will take charge for the third successive match in Eddie Howe’s absence due to illness.

Tindall was sent off when Newcastle hosted Villa at St James’ Park in December for clashing with Villa analyst Victor Manas, who was also dismissed after clashing in the tunnel at half-time. The pair were subject to an FA investigation with Manas charged and handed a two-match ban while Tindall escaped punishment.

Looking ahead to Saturday’s match, Tindall said he would offer to shake Emery’s hand, having clashed with him when the sides last met.

“Yeah, it's going to be an incredibly tough game,” said the Newcastle assistant. “They've only lost once at home this season, which was right early on against Arsenal, so we know what type of challenge we're going to be facing.

“I think they've won 10 of their last 11 in all competitions. They’re on a similar run of form to ourselves at the minute, and obviously they're trying to achieve the same goal as we are.

“It's going to be a real tough game and the atmosphere at Villa Park is always great and it’ll be two teams that are going to go out there to try and win the game.”

Your next Newcastle United read: Sandro Tonali price tag leaked in Italian media amid Juventus links - Newcastle United fans will laugh