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Newcastle United has a task on their hand when they host Everton on May 25 at St James’s Park with Champions League qualification still undecided.
For Magpies equation is simple- A win guarantees a top-five finish and a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League but anything less than that opens the door for Chelsea, Aston Villa, or Nottingham Forest to leapfrog Eddie Howe’s side.
Paul Merson, who has given his verdict ahead of the final day, believes Newcastle are entering dangerous territory.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, the former Arsenal and England midfielder said, “This is a dangerous game for Newcastle because Everton are one of those teams that never lie down. No matter what kind of season they go through, Everton never roll over or make it easy for their opponents.”
Newcastle have played 47 matches across all competitions this season, registering 28 wins, 7 draws, and 12 defeats.
They come into this clash after a narrow 1-0 loss away to Arsenal, their second defeat in ten matches.
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That result has left them vulnerable in a high-stakes race where margins are very small. With striker Alexander Isak a doubt, Merson added, “If Alexander Isak is not fit to play this game, then it becomes a really tough task for Newcastle.”
As far as the deeper permutations goes. A win sends Newcastle through. A draw means they need both Nottingham Forest and Chelsea to draw, and Aston Villa to drop points at Manchester United.
If Newcastle lose, they must hope Chelsea and Villa also lose, and that they maintain their superior goal difference over Chelsea, which stands at +2.
Merson was firm in his view: “A draw might be good enough for Newcastle to qualify for the Champions League, but I don’t think they would want to leave it down to chance.” He predicted a tight outcome: “Newcastle 1, Everton 0.”
Eddie Howe believes missing out on Champions League will be a huge below
Eddie Howe has admitted that failure to qualify for the Champions League would be a crushing end to Newcastle United’s campaign.
“If we miss out it will be a tough one to take,” Howe said ahead of Sunday’s clash with Everton.
“In that moment it will feel like a huge disappointment because we have been in there fighting for two-thirds of the season.”
Newcastle, level on 66 points with Chelsea and Aston Villa, must win to stay in control “We know what we need to do and what we want to do,” Howe added.
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