Both Eddie Howe and Unai Emery have got Newcastle and Aston Villa already playing some sparkling stuff this season.
In Europe and in the Premier League, the odd result aside, it’s been a successful start to the 2023/24 campaign for the Magpies and the Villains.
Though there’s still plenty of time left in the current campaign for anything to happen, with injuries and suspensions surely playing a part in either team’s continued success over the next few months, it’s clear that Emery and Howe have the same aims in mind.
European qualification for next season as a minimum, with the possibility of a trophy in one of the domestic competitions.
A dececnt run in this season’s Champions League for Newcastle and the Europa Conference League for Villa should enhance those aspirations.
As to who will finish higher than the other, former Premier League legend, David Seaman believes it’s not even in doubt.
“Someone was saying the other day they would tip Villa for top four,” he said on his Seaman Says podcast (h/t Geordie Boot Boys).
“But I would take Newcastle all day long over Villa.”
With the greatest of respect to Villa, the Magpies are the bigger of the two clubs and clearly have more resources than their rivals.
However, Unai Emery has consistently shown himself to be one of European football’s more astute managers, and his trophy record puts him on a different level to Howe.