Arne Slot deals Newcastle United bad news in their Champions League push

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Newcastle United are locked in quite the battle for Champions League qualification.

Currently third in the Premier League, Newcastle United have little margin for error during the final four games of the campaign.

Indeed, the Premier League table is all rather congested towards the top five, meaning any points dropped could be costly as a number of teams race to secure qualification to the Champions League.

Newcastle play Brighton on Sunday in another huge game. They have not won at the Amex Stadium since 2017, which is a bit of a concern.  

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	34	25	7	2	80	32	48	82
2	ArsenalArsenal	34	18	13	3	63	29	34	67
3	NewcastleNewcastle	34	19	5	10	65	44	21	62
4	Man CityManchester City	34	18	7	9	66	43	23	61
5	ChelseaChelsea	34	17	9	8	59	40	19	60
6	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	34	18	6	10	53	41	12	60

None of the teams involved in the battle can afford to slip-up. The margins are very tight and the idea of Chelsea and Aston Villa making up ground on Newcastle is a worry.

The Blues have a difficult game themselves against Premier League champions Liverpool on Sunday but Arne Slot’s recent comments should raise alarm on Tyneside.

• READ MORE: Yaya Toure’s shock role in Brighton vs Newcastle United

Arne Slot confirms bad news for Newcastle United

Speaking before Sunday’s game, Reds boss Arne Slot confirmed he would start rotating his options now the league has been wrapped up.

Obviously, you’d expect any team Liverpool put out to be competitive but even slight tweaks could disrupt their rhythm somewhat, particularly after the emotional release of winning the title in front of supporters for the first time since 1990. 

It’s also worth noting that the last time Liverpool played straight after winning the league, they were thrashed 4-0 at Manchester City.

“My lineups will be different,” confirmed the Dutchman.

“We are not going to change everyone but there will be a few players that will come into the team.”

Newcastle United team news vs Brighton

Clearly, the idea of Chelsea potentially catching Liverpool cold is hardly welcome.

Still, the Newcastle United manager would no doubt stress that his team should only be focused on themselves in the final four games of the season. Already in pole position, they cannot control results elsewhere.

With that in mind, it’s frustrating that Eddie Howe was dealt a hammer blow in preparations for the Brighton game.

Key midfielder Joelinton is expected to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, although Howe did last week see Sven Botman return to action following surgery.