Aston Villa manager Unai Emery expects his in-form side to face a “very difficult” challenge away to Newcastle on Boxing Day.
Villa beat Premier League champions Manchester City on Saturday for a fourth win from five games in all competitions.
But sixth-placed Villa will kick-off at St James’ Park against a Newcastle team on a fine run of their own.
The Magpies go into Thursday’s game following successive 4-0 league wins over Leicester and Ipswich, with Newcastle having also done the double over Villa last season.
“Very difficult, because I think now they are in good form, and of course they played two years ago in the Champions League,” said Emery of Newcastle.
“Their objective is clearly to be in Europe,” added the Spaniard as he lauded Newcastle manager Eddie Howe.
“He (Howe) was doing a fantastic job with Bournemouth. Always, his teams are more or less dynamic teams, intensity, they like to play with the ball possession and being aggressive in attack, attacking with a lot of players.
“They (Newcastle) beat us last year two times, and of course I respect them a lot. It is a very strong stadium for them, difficult for the opponent.”
‘Motivating’
Villa have lost their last four away games in the Premier League and Thursday’s match promises to be another tough test.
“When I arrived here, my thoughts were that it is the most difficult league,” said Emery.
“A lot of teams have capacity, with good players, good coaches and good history…The league is a very interesting league, very motivating for us, each match how we can get points and be better. Now we are sixth, we are trying to focus each match, be consistent.
“We are feeling better at home, but away, it is completely different.”
Howe, meanwhile, has challenged his eighth-placed side — just two points behind Villa — to prove the Premier League’s top six is no “closed shop”.
Spending regulations mean both clubs face fresh challenges as they bid to secure places among English football’s elite but Howe refuses to let those restrictions temper his ambitions.
“I never see anything as a closed shop,” he said. “It’s our job to try and achieve the most that we can and put no barriers on our levels or our expectations of ourselves internally and see what happens.”
Howe added: “We have seen Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and loads of teams have really strong seasons. The level of the Premier League has been really tight this year between all teams.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of difference between the top and bottom sides and that’s testament to the quality of every team in the league. There are no easy games and that makes a great spectacle.
“It makes a great league because you never know what’s going to happen. You never know what twists and turns are ahead, so it’s up to all of us to try and break into whatever group of teams, try to upset people and achieve success.”