Win a few football matches and suddenly the world is rosy once again as Newcastle United have discovered in recent weeks. The Magpies couldn’t buy an away win at the business end of 2023 but now simply can’t stop picking up victories on the road.
Saturday’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest means Newcastle’s fine form continues and suddenly the fanbase are once again believing a European finish is a real possibility. Moments after the final whistle had sounded at the City Ground, Eddie Howe, Bruno Guimaraes and Kieran Trippier were all asked what they thought of the club’s chances when it comes to repeating last season’s success.
Finishing in the top four, or top five if the Premier League is handed an extra Champions League spot, remains a real tough ask. Newcastle sit in seventh on 36 points, behind Manchester United with 41, Aston Villa on 46 and Tottenham have picked up 47.
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But there are warning signs ahead for some of those aforementioned top flight rivals. Namely Aston Villa. Unai Emery’s side almost went a whole year without losing at Villa Park before Newcastle showed up last month and put them to the sword.
Since then, the Midlands outfit have struggled, losing to both Chelsea and Manchester United at home following a convincing win over Sheffield United on the road. Winning just one of their last four league games puts Emery’s men under a bit of pressure – and Newcastle will be hoping to capitalise.
“We lost the opportunity today, but we are going to try and recover quickly against Fulham away and try to be consistent,” the Villa boss said after Sunday’s narrow loss to Manchester United.
“We are continuing to build the team with our mentality. Sometimes we are not being successful like today, but we have to accept it and understand how we can be stronger.”
Manchester United themselves are trying to stay in the hunt and have started to put together a string of wins to take the heat off Erik ten Hag. The Red Devils have won three on the spin in the Premier League and will want to extend the gap to Newcastle in the coming weeks.
As for Howe’s side, the campaign is looking a lot brighter than it did just six weeks ago. With Newcastle two games from Wembley via the FA Cup and now back in the hunt for a European spot, the doom and gloom of the festive period seems a lifetime ago.
