With the two Friday night games out of the way, where Spurs and Man Utd did us no favours away to top-five rivals Aston Villa and Chelsea, the Premier League table looks like this heading into our trip to Arsenal tomorrow:
- Liverpool - 83pts (+46 GD) - Brighton (A), Palace (H)
- Arsenal - 68pts (+33 GD) - Newcastle (H), Southampton (A)
- Newcastle - 66pts (+23 GD) - Arsenal (A), Everton (H)
- Chelsea - 66pts (+20 GD) - Forest (A)
- Aston Villa - 66pts (+9 GD) - Man Utd (A)
- Man City - 65pts (+24 GD)- Bournemouth (H), Fulham (A)
- Nottingham Forest - 62pts (+12 GD) - West Ham (A), Chelsea (H)
It looks horribly tight, but the table shows how vital it was that we picked up all three points in last Sunday's 2-0 win over Chelsea.
This weekend, Arsenal can be seen as a free hit. Win it and we've secured Champions League and it will be in our hands to finish second on the final day with a victory over Everton.
Lose or draw and it is still in our hands next Sunday. Just one more win from our final two games will do it, giving us two bites at the Cherry while rivals in and around us know two wins is probably needed to make the top five.
It's going to be nervy, you'd think, but this is a big chance to make it four wins out of four against Mikel Arteta's Arsenal this season. There is nothing to fear and everything to gain for Eddie Howe's Mags.
Howe's pre-match comments
On race for UCL - "It's not done yet. The picture can change game to game and I think we've got to be really focused on our next game and trying to win it. We have been, our preparation has been good and the focus is there from the players. Nothing is achieved until it's achieved. We have to be single minded in that and not get distracted."
On Sven Botman -"It was a knock, he got a bang on his knee. We're not sure about Sven's availability for the weekend but we'll give him a chance to be fit. We don't think it's a serious injury. He's been unlucky. You're going to get knocks and bruises in his position and this is a similar thing, he's been really unlucky on the last two occasions."
On Trippier and Willock - "Kieran I don't think will be fit for this weekend but again it's not a big injury, a very minor calf problem. Joe - we'll leave the door open for him, I think he's got a slight chance."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmyVexkroXo&t=1312s&ab_channel=NewcastleUnited
Team news
Sven Botman has a slim chance of making the squad along with Joe Willock, but it looks like Kieran Trippier will miss out, with Joelinton unlikely to play again this season despite pushing to return.
Jamaal Lascelles played in a behind-closed-doors match this week and should be in the squad again, but Lewis Hall (foot) and Matt Targett (hamstring) remain out.
Arsenal had Declan Rice, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz involved in first-team training this week, suggesting all three could be OK, but former Mag Mikel Merino is suspended and Gabriel Jesus and centre-back Gabriel remain out.
Predicted line-up
(3-4-3): Pope – Krath, Schar, Burn - Murphy, Bruno, Tonali, Livramento - Barnes, Isak, Gordon.
If Howe moves back to a 4-3-3, we could see Emil Krafth at right-back and Lewis Miley (or Joe Willock if fit) added into a midfield three, meaning one of Murphy, Barnes or Gordon then miss out, but I wouldn't be surprised if we went for a back three/five in this one.
It could be a back three in possession, with Murphy and Livramento supporting attacks from wing-back, and a back five when we're defending, with Tino facing the task of protecting Burn from the dangerous Bukayo Saka.
The only concern would be midfielder numbers, as a two of Tonali and Bruno may be up against Arsenal's Odegaard, Partey and Rice if the latter is fit. We'd outnumber them in other areas, but this may be a concern that sees Howe consider adding Miley or Willock into a 4-3-3.
Botman's presence at centre-back would be welcome, I just wonder if the Dutchman should be protected over the final two games to ensure his knee issues don't flare up again heading into a big pre-season for the big man.
Match prediction
In many ways, this is a free hit for Newcastle, who haven't conceded a single goal against Arsenal in three meetings this season in league and cup, while the Gunners have lost two and drawn two of their previous four home games.
We've only drawn one game (the 1-1 draw at Brighton two weeks ago) since early December, but I think we made pick up a point here. It wouldn't be enough to secure a top-five finish just yet, but we'd head into the final day in pole position.
Prediction: Arsenal 1-1 Newcastle
Howay the lads!
