aA week later, talk dominated Their controversial 2-0 defeat to Manchester City On Wednesday, Aston Villa will fuel a sense of injustice as they face Newcastle tonight.

Having maintained the level of scores in the Union until the 79th minute, I received the net of Villa when Rodri returned from an offside position to send out Tyrone Mings and make Bernardo Silva. Villa felt the goal should have been ruled out Dean Smith was expelled due to his protests in the aftermathBut the PGMOL jury made it clear, According to the text of the law, John Moss was right to let him stand.

Villa is now unbeaten in three Premier League matches, although he has just played for Chelsea, Manchester United and City in quick succession. Smith may not be able to sit in bunker given he’s being banned on the touchline for one match, but he must feel reasonably confident that his team can score well against Newcastle.

Newcastle were defeated well by Arsenal earlier in the week, slipping to 15th in the table. Their last win over West Brom came in early December, with seven defeats and two draws in all competitions since.

This race left Steve Bruce looking increasingly isolated, although Smith was chivalrous when asked what Newcastle looked like before the match. “It was a great start to the season with a great result at West Ham,” he said.

“You can see that all the players look bright and have a scorer in the team.

“They go through one of those periods a minute. We’ve had one season last year – we’ve never had a period like that this season.

“You’re just waiting for something to start you, and I’m sure it will happen. We have to make sure it’s not against us.”

Meanwhile, Bruce did his best to highlight the positives. “I thought that we had improved against Arsenal in the first half and we fell in the second half,” he said.

“We are trying to push more people forward and we are trying to be that way. When you face it, you need a result … We are on a test.”