Aston Villa Go Eighth By Pushing Newcastle United Towards Relegation

Aston Villa got back to their winning ways on Saturday with a 2-0 home victory over struggling Newcastle United.

First-half goals from Ollie Watkins and Bertrand Traore were enough for three points to lift them to eighth place in the English Premier League with 29 points after a coronavirus-enforced break.

Aston Villa has two games in hand because an outbreak of coronavirus at their training facilities.

The outbreak forced manager Dean Smith and many first-team players to isolate from Jan. 6 and miss two fixtures.

Newcastle United meanwhile have not picked up a win in seven league games since Dec. 12 and have slipped to 16th place on 19 points, seven clear of the relegation zone.