Unai Emery came mightily close to calling St James' Park his home stadium - but now is plotting to how overcome Newcastle United in their own backyard this week.

Aston Villa have won just three times on the road this season - and have lost four straight games away from the comfort of Villa Park. On Boxing Day they arrive at St James' Park to face a Newcastle side who are starting to find their feet again, especially on Tyneside.

A 3-3 thriller with Liverpool was followed up by 4-0 and 3-1 thrashings of Leicester City and Brentford, respectively, at St James' Park and a repeat of those performances would give Newcastle an outstanding chance of beating Villa this week.

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“They beat us twice last year and I respect them a lot," Emery said before the December 26th clash. "It is going to be very difficult, in Newcastle with the supporters the atmosphere makes it a very strong stadium for them and difficult for the opponent.

“They are being successful at home, more than less. They performed very well against Liverpool and Arsenal. They are winning a lot of matches. It’s a big motivation to play there.”

Aston Villa recorded a well-deserved 2-1 victory over Manchester City just a matter of days ago but their aforementioned away form is holding them back at present.

"We are trying to focus on each match, being consistent," Emery added. “After the win we had on Saturday against Manchester City we are of course feeling better at home.

"But away is completely different, we are losing the last matches we played in the Premier League. It is our challenge. Our great challenge is Newcastle and away.”