Newcastle United could still qualify for European football next season.
This explains how it is still possible…
The top five in the Premier League are guaranteed a place in the Champions League.
The sixth placed team will also get a Champions League spot just so long as Aston Villa finish fifth AND win the Europa League.
In six days time it is the FA Cup final (Saturday 16 May and a 3pm kick-off). If Manchester City beat Chelsea at Wembley, the Europa League spot would then be passed on to seventh, with the eighth placed team getting a Conference League place.
These were the Premier League results on Saturday:
Liverpool 1 Chelsea 1
Brighton 3 Wolves 0
Fulham 0 Bournemouth 1
Sunderland 0 Man U 0
Man City 3 Brentford 0
Which leaves the Premier League table looking like this on Sunday morning:
Sunday’s matches (followed by Tottenham v Leeds on Monday night) are:
Burnley v Aston Villa (2pm)
Crystal Palace v Everton (2pm)
Forest v Newcastle United (2pm)
West Ham v Arsenal (4.30pm)
When it comes to United’s European hopes, Saturday’s results were generally very positive. Brentford and Fulham lost, the Mackems and Chelsea only a point each.
What this all means is that if Newcastle United win at Forest and Everton lose at Crystal Palace, then Eddie Howe and his players move up to tenth place with 48 points, one behind Chelsea and three points behind Brentford with two rounds of matches left to play.
This also produces an amusing possibility, even if a ‘few’ other results also need to happen.
Newcastle face West Ham at home and Fulham away in their last two games. Brentford are home to Palace and then away at Liverpool. Whilst Chelsea are home to Spurs and away at Sunderland.
On the final day of the season, there is currently the possibility of a Sunderland win or draw against Chelsea gifting Newcastle United European football…
Eddie Howe was asked on Friday at his pre-Forest press conference about the possibility of still getting European football: “We have trained well and that is where I get my measurement from in terms of mentality, in terms of effort and our preparation. It has been strong. I said it was strong last week. There has been no end-of-season feel to our training ground work, that’s really important and while there’s still an opportunity, we will try and grab it.”