Sky has officially rebranded one of the Premier League’s most notable groups of teams for the 2024-25 season, following Newcastle United’s on-field success.
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Before the 2024-25 season, Sky rebranded the ‘big six’ as the ‘big seven’. Newcastle now joins the traditional ‘big six’ of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur.
It happened after Newcastle finished fourth in the 2022–23 season and seventh in the Premier League last season. The Magpies have earned their place, since they are now third in the Premier League and have won the Carabao Cup.
Meanwhile, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are suffering in the lower half of the table.
However, Aston Villa, who just reached the Champions League quarter-finals and have finished in the top seven in the Premier League for each of the last three seasons, are notably absent from the Sky ‘big seven’.
Newcastle meet Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday (5:30pm kick-off), in a match that will be televised live on Sky Sports and is expected to be crucial in the battle for Champions League qualifying.
Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery dismisses ‘big six’
Throughout his tenure at Aston Villa, head coach Unai Emery has continually dismissed the so-called ‘big six’. Only once in the previous six seasons have the conventional ‘big six’ finished as the top six clubs in the Premier League rankings.
Villa and Newcastle are on track to finish in the top seven more times than Manchester United, Tottenham, and Chelsea during the last three seasons.
“Now it is not a top six but a top seven, top eight or top 10,” Emery said previously. “There are a lot of teams capable of targeting those positions and I want to add Aston Villa into it too.”
Newcastle United in the ‘big seven’ over Aston Villa
Newcastle’s selection in Sky’s ‘big seven’ over Aston Villa has sparked controversy and disagreement among fans. Villa has competed in Europe in each of the last two seasons and finished fourth in the Premier League last season, while Newcastle finished seventh last season after finishing fourth the year before.
However, Newcastle’s participation is supported by the fact that they are the first team outside of the traditional big six to win a major domestic prize since the club’s high-profile purchase in 2021.
Newcastle head into Saturday’s match sitting five points ahead of Villa in the Premier League table.
Looking ahead to the match, Newcastle assistant manager Jason Tindall said: “Yeah, it’s going to be an incredibly tough game. They’ve only lost once at home this season, which was right early on against Arsenal, so we know what type of challenge we’re going to be facing.
“I think they’ve won 10 of their last 11 in all competitions. They’re on a similar run of form to ourselves at the minute, and obviously they’re trying to achieve the same goal as we are.
“It’s going to be a real tough game and the atmosphere at Villa Park is always great and it’ll be two teams that are going to go out there to try and win the game.”
