Aston Villa will be following in the footsteps of Newcastle United as they prepare for a Champions League campaign next season.
Eddie Howe’s Newcastle managed to upset the conventional Premier League ‘big six’ as they finished in the top four in 2022/23 which saw them compete in Europe’s elite club competition last season.
Last season, Unai Emery guided Aston Villa to the same achievement in an incredible season that saw them not only finish fourth ahead of the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle themselves, but also get to the Europa Conference League semi-final.
Newcastle had the unfortunate luck to be drawn into the proverbial ‘Group of Death’ in the Champions League last season, facing PSG, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan and ultimately finishing bottom.
Villa will be playing in a Champions League with a different format, but have been told why they will perform better than Newcastle managed last year.
Aston Villa told Europa Conference League campaign will prepare them for Champions League
Despite finishing bottom of their group, it was not all doom and gloom for Newcastle.
The St James’ Park faithful enjoyed some momentous European nights, with the atmosphere a sight to behold; particularly as they thrashed PSG 4-1 on matchday two.
However, their lack of European experience showed as they naively chased a winner against AC Milan in their final group game to qualify for the knockout stages and ended up conceding which meant they missed out on dropping into the Europa League.
Speaking on the Claret & Blue podcast, Newcastle United podcaster Andrew Musgrove revealed the major factor that means he thinks Villa could outperform the Magpies, as he said: “Newcastle fans were split on the merits of the Conference League, I would’ve taken it every day of the week.
“It’s a competition you stand a real chance of winning, you guys [Villa] went really far in it. I actually think Villa might do better than Newcastle in the Champions League this season because they have had that schedule last season where they were playing three games a week.
“The quality of the opposition will be some step up…but I think you guys playing in the Conference League will be a massive, massive help.”
Aston Villa can learn from Newcastle’s Champions League shortcomings
The run to the Europa Conference League semi-final – where Villa lost 6-2 on aggregate to Olympiacos – will have taught Emery’s squad a lot about European football.
Many of Villa’s players would not have experienced regular midweek European competition before and would have benefitted from a season in which they would have learned a lot about the strains it can have on a squad.
One of Newcastle’s biggest issues last season was injuries and, whilst there is an element of bad luck, Emery can learn from the consequences of Howe’s lack of rotation.
Emery will be very aware of the need to bulk up the squad this summer and add depth.
The Spanish coach’s European pedigree, having won four Europa League trophies, will stand Villa in good stead and the meticulous nature of Emery will no doubt mean he will study Newcastle to see what he can learn and apply to his own side.
It is sure to be another exciting season at Villa Park and if they can progress further than Newcastle it will be a very good place to start.
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