Pundits rave about Aston Villa pair and issue Newcastle predictions

Michael Owen says Philippe Coutinho’s stunning early form for Aston Villa has rekindled memories of the Brazilian’s time at Liverpool.

The 29-year-old emerged as one of the best players on the planet at Anfield as the Reds narrowly missed out on the Premier League title under Brendan Rodgers in 2014.

As we know, his huge-money transfer to Barcelona has proved a major disappointment, but joining Villa on loan and playing under Steven Gerrard looks to have reignited his career.

Villa fans will be hoping for more Coutinho magic when Gerrard’s side face Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Sunday.

Looking ahead to the game for BetVictor, Owen also highlighted the recent form of Jacob Ramsey and Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier.

“That was a huge [3-1] win for Newcastle against Everton. The fans were brilliant and all of a sudden, there’s a bit of optimism about the place,” said Owen.

“Kieran Trippier has been a standout since he joined, and he was superb again. He could prove to be one of the signings of the season.

“Speaking of signings of the season, Philippe Coutinho is looking like the man who starred for Liverpool. His link-up with Jacob Ramsey has been evident since his first game, and those two shone against Leeds.

“Ramsay continues to catch the eye. He took his goals brilliantly, but it was his movement for the goals which really impressed me.”

“This should be a good game. I can see both sides scoring and I’m going for a 1-1 draw.”

Fellow ex-Liverpool man Mark Lawrenson also thinks the match will end in a draw.

“There have been plenty of positives for both teams in the past couple of weeks and this has the making of a really good game. It's certainly a hard one to call,” said Lawrenson in his predictions for BBC Sport.