Analysing Newcastle’s Champions League ambitions

Local TV Sport

Daniel Wales and Joe Buck discuss whether Newcastle will qualify for the Champions League.

Transcript

00:00Now, as well, we should probably mention the fact that

00:03because of Arsenal's win in the Champions League

00:06on Tuesday evening against Real Madrid,

00:09fifth place is now confirmed to be a Champions League spot

00:12for next season.

00:14I mean, we've had this suspicion for quite a long time now

00:17because of the way English clubs were progressing

00:18in European competition this year.

00:20But it is now confirmed, which, I mean,

00:22it does make Newcastle's life an awful lot easier

00:25in terms of Champions League qualification this season.

00:26They are currently sat fifth, joint level with fourth place Chelsea.

00:30Only on goal difference are they behind them.

00:33So it's looking good for Newcastle at the moment.

00:36You know, they've still got a game in hand over the teams around them too.

00:40And if they win that, they'll leapfrog Chelsea.

00:42They'll also go a point behind third place Nottingham Forest.

00:44Yes, they've got some tricky games to come after that, Newcastle,

00:46but they've got some winnable games to come before the harder ones.

00:50I mean, obviously, you look at Manchester United.

00:52We'll come on to that in a bit more detail later.

00:54But you've got Crystal Palace.

00:57Obviously, Aston Villa's tricky.

00:58Then you've got Ipswich.

00:59So lots of winnable games.

01:01And you'd have to fancy them to come at least fifth,

01:04I think, of the way things are going at the moment.

01:07Yeah, definitely.

01:07I think so.

01:08You know, a few weeks ago, there was almost everyone

01:10from sort of 11th or 10th that thought they could finish in the top five.

01:14I think that's probably now down to maybe sort of four or five clubs.

01:18I think, obviously, Liverpool and Arsenal are almost guaranteed.

01:20Then you've got anyone from Forest, Newcastle, Man City, Chelsea,

01:24even Aston Villa, who are in a decent run of form.

01:26So I think they've just got to keep picking up wins when they can,

01:29as they've been doing the last couple of weeks,

01:30picking up, especially at home, trying to, you know,

01:33win all their home games.

01:34That's a solid foundation.

01:36And then it's just you've got to look at the sort of split the season

01:40and the rest of the season two little bits.

01:42You've got the week coming up with Man U, Palace and Villa.

01:45They're three big games.

01:46You know, if they can get maybe six points, seven points from that,

01:48that's a tremendous result.

01:50And then, obviously, Ipswich and Siafta.

01:52But then they've got Brighton, Chelsea and Arsenal to come

01:54in the beginning of May, which is another sort of really tough period.

01:58So, yeah, they just have to keep winning games.

01:59And I think, guaranteeing, you know, having that fifth place

02:03is a real big advantage and something that will give them a big boost

02:06because we all saw last year, we all went into that FA Cup final,

02:09assuming Newcastle will be playing European football

02:12and that didn't happen.

02:14But, yeah, Champions League is one they'll be aiming for.

02:16Now, I do think they will get it.

02:18I think that you've got a lot of teams there

02:20who aren't in the best of form.

02:23You know, Man City losing Haaland, for example.

02:25Chelsea have been a bit erratic this season.

02:27Notting Forest have lost a couple.

02:28And, of course, Newcastle, you know,

02:29as much as they've won four in a row now,

02:31they've shown the times they're not in the best of form.

02:33But I think it is theirs to grasp.

02:36And if they can get the win on Sunday

02:38and make the most of their game in hand,

02:40then they'll be in a really good position to sort of attack that

02:42because teams won't want to be chasing Newcastle,

02:44especially with their home games to come,

02:45they won't want to have to rely on Newcastle slipping up.

02:49Performances probably do have to get better

02:50in the next week to win those games.

02:52I think they've been certainly fortunate on Monday night.

02:55I'd say they didn't play very well,

02:56but they didn't have to against a really, really bad Leicester team.

02:58And against Brentford, they were decent.

03:01But they'll have to be better,

03:02probably against Palace next week.

03:04I think Manchester United's a bit of a different one on Sunday.

03:05I think they will get a reaction and a better performance

03:08because it's always a really good atmosphere there.

03:11But yeah, they'll have to improve.

03:12But I do think fifth place is theirs to lose now.

03:14A bit of a rise in terms of the atmosphere from that game

03:16because, well, it's Manchester United.

03:18Regardless of how poor they've been this season,

03:20Newcastle will go into that game.

03:21And I think the players will put in a reaction as well,

03:24even though it's funny to say that they're going to have a reaction

03:27even off the back of a win.

03:29But that's just the way it is.

03:31But yeah, games to come, as you say,

03:33their Palace will be tricky

03:34because they're in a good reign of form at the moment as well.

03:37But you've also got to hope that perhaps

03:39they'll be looking towards their Epic Cup semi-final as well

03:42and perhaps might have one eye on that

03:43and their priorities might be a little bit shifted

03:45by the time that that game comes around.

03:47So you can look at that as perhaps a factor in Newcastle's favour.

03:51And then obviously, as you say there,

03:52Villa will be a tricky one.

03:53I think if you look at the away games,

03:55they're sort of games where as long as long,

03:59now that this is providing Newcastle win their home games,

04:02if they can then win the home games,

04:04and then go into the away games and just not lose them,

04:08you're pretty much there, to be honest.

04:10You don't necessarily have to win the away games.

04:13If you win all your home games and draw all your away games,

04:17they will get into the top five quite comfortably

04:19because of the position they're currently in anyway.

04:22So I think it's very much in their hands.

04:25I mean, obviously, it'd be great to win some of those away games as well.

04:27But as long as they do the business at St James' Park,

04:31certainly they just need to go into the away games and not lose.

04:33Because then, of course, when they're playing the teams around them,

04:35like Brighton and Villa,

04:37things stay the same as well,

04:39because you're restricting them, of course, as well.

04:41So it's, as I say, it's in their hands.

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