Newcastle United target more silverware this season, with an FA Cup trip to Aston Villa offering another chance to extend last year’s trophy success. Eddie Howe’s side visit Villa on Saturday, aiming to build on improved league form despite statistical models placing Newcastle as underdogs in the fifth-round tie.
Data specialists Opta rate Aston Villa as 54.8% favourites to reach the next round, underlining the scale of Newcastle’s task. However, the squad travel with renewed belief after Tuesday’s away win at Tottenham, a result that lifted Newcastle into the Premier League’s top half.
Newcastle ended a 60-year wait for a major domestic honour in March last year, defeating Liverpool 2-1 in the EFL Cup final. That triumph raised expectations on Tyneside,
even though this season’s EFL Cup defence finished at the semi-final stage after defeat to Manchester City earlier this month.
"We'd love to have one, Howe told reporters ahead of Newcastle's FA Cup tie with Aston Villa. We get asked a lot about the cup competitions, our attitude won't change. We will try and win the next game and that is Aston Villa away, a really tough draw. Maybe not the draw we wanted but it's a competition we want to try and do well in. Enjoyed our run last year, disappointed to exit when we did so the aim to go as far as we can. I think we have to see it like that. I think we are here to try and win. Last year in the EFL Cup and what that meant to everybody and the experience we went through to win the competition. We would love to do it in another, in any other way we can. If that is the FA Cup then that is a great opportunity for us. We look at tomorrow as an opportunity to win this game that is in front of us. We have then got a long travel midweek back into the Champions League but we will worry about that when we get there. All focus and all eyes are on this game. "
Howe’s comments highlight Newcastle’s intention to treat the FA Cup with the same seriousness as last season’s EFL Cup run. The head coach sees knockout competitions as realistic paths to trophies, even with Champions League commitments resuming after this away tie at Villa Park.
Newcastle’s challenge is shaped by both form and fitness, with Bruno Guimaraes awaiting assessment on a hamstring problem. Howe confirmed the club are still determining the severity of that issue, which could influence selection for the FA Cup clash and the upcoming Champions League schedule.
"It's massive for us that spirit, the feeling we [club and fans] have between each other is everything," added Howe, who also confirmed Newcastle are waiting to discover the extent of Bruno Guimaraes' hamstring injury. "It's the missing ingredient that you can never define, how much you want to win, not just for yourself but for your team-mates, for the coaching staff. The energy you try and give each other every day, that you try and feed off. That was there in abundance on Tuesday and we are going to need that again for the remainder of the season. "
The historical record in this fixture offers mixed signs for Newcastle in the FA Cup. Aston Villa have eliminated Newcastle four times in the competition, in 1894-95, 1896-97, 1904-05 and 2000-01, while Newcastle advanced in the 1923-24 final and a third-round tie during the 1951-52 season.
Key numbers around the upcoming Newcastle FA Cup meeting with Aston Villa and Opta’s projection are shown below.
Aston Villa away in the FA Cup pic.twitter.com/aOcRlsVLw6Newcastle United (@NUFC) February 13, 2026
Newcastle now enter the FA Cup tie balancing renewed confidence, an underdog label from Opta and a demanding travel schedule. Howe’s squad carry last season’s EFL Cup experience, recent victory at Tottenham and a strong bond with supporters into a meeting with Aston Villa that could shape their domestic cup campaign.
