Aston Villa left St. James' Park with a 2-0 win over hosts Newcastle United on Sunday, and Ollie Watkins is crediting the work the Villans did before kick-off for the victory. Watkins scored the game's second goal in the 88th minute to seal the result for the visitors, with teammate Emi Buendia breaking the deadlock early in the first half.

NEWCASTLE, England, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Aston Villa got their Premier League title challenge back on track with an impressive 2-0 victory at Newcastle United on Sunday moving them level on points with second-placed Manchester City.

Jadon Sancho scored his first goal for Aston Villa to lift his new club past Fenerbahce 1-0 and into the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday with a game to spare. Lyon also clinched a last-16 spot with a 1-0 victory over Young Boys in Bern,

The battle for supremacy continues at the top of the division.

Aston Villa became the latest title challenger to trip up on a weekend of surprising results in the Premier League, losing 1-0 at home to Everton on Sunday after a defensive blunder. After Villa center back Pau Torres gave the ball away on the edge of his area and goalkeeper Emi Martinez fumbled a soft shot,

Chelsea have been fined a substantial sum by the FA after an "unidentified member" of the club's staff was accused of throwing a plastic drinks bottle.

Indeed, Aston Villa have recently been hit by the loss of Boubacar Kamara, who suffered a serious knee injury and is expected to miss the remainder of the 2025–26 season. With the French midfielder sidelined, the club is now searching for a player to fill that role.