16/03/19 - Bournemouth (a)
01/04/19 - Arsenal (a)
06/04/19 - Crystal Palace (h)
12/04/19 - Leicester (a)
20/04/19 - Southampton (h)
27/04/19 - Brighton (a)
04/05/19 - Liverpool (h)
12/05/19 - Fulham (a)
Newcastle United have had another roller-coaster season in the Premier League this year. The first win came in November and somehow, the Magpies have managed to clamber themselves back up into a mid-table position; currently sitting in 13th spot after an unbelievable comeback against Everton. With the final eight games of the season looming, how will Newcastle perform in the run-in of the season?
The Magpies start with two away games against Bournemouth and Arsenal. This is worrying for some considering Newcastle have only been victorious in two away league games all season (against Burnley and Huddersfield). The next match is against Bournemouth and the Cherries have only won one in their last six matches, the win coming against Huddersfield. Arsenal, however, have only lost twice in 2019 and haven't been defeated since early February when they lost 3-1 to league leaders Manchester City. Despite their poor away form, Newcastle should be expected to claim a win against the Cherries given their circumstances, whilst even a point would be a very good result against Arsenal.
The following four games are all against sides extremely close to Newcastle regarding points.
Leicester City, who are currently in 10th place, are expected to provide the hardest game of the run in. Games against Palace, Southampton and Brighton are all key games to get results. Winning such matches has to be the aim if the club are to avoid being pulled into the relegation dogfight.
The final two games of the season are fairly unpredictable. Liverpool are likely to still be within touching distance of the Premier League title and Fulham, who will possibly be already relegated when the final day fixtures roll around.
Knowing Newcastle we will probably beat Liverpool and then succumb to the mighty Fulham at Craven Cottage, although to be fair to the Cottagers, teams that have already been relegated have pulled off some impressive end of season results in the past, possibly to try and force transfers or possibly because there is no pressure and nothing to lose.
I think Newcastle United will reach the 40 points mark within the next four games as most of the remaining games can be deemed to be winnable. However we are far from safety and it is possible to slip into that third relegation spot if we are not careful, especially with surrounding teams starting to win their respective matches, it could take two or three matches to then be looking at an entirely different situation to what we are in in the present day.