How Newcastle United’s final 10 fixtures compare to Man City and Chelsea in Champions League qualification race

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Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup triumph celebrations are far from over but attentions will soon return to the Premier League.

It’s still not quite sunk in for Newcastle United that their 70-year wait for a trophy came to an end against Liverpool last Sunday.

Newcastle will hold a celebration in the city on March 29 so Eddie Howe, players and the fans can all celebrate together before the team returns to action.

The Magpies have already secured European football in the Europa Conference League after winning the Carabao Cup final but have designs on a much bigger stage.

The race for a Champions League place is the only thing still up for grabs in this season’s Premier League campaign and Newcastle are well in the hunt.

They are not alone, though, with several teams still in with a chance of qualifying for European’s top competition.

Here’s how Newcastle’s 10 remaining Premier League fixtures compare with their closest competitors.

Who Newcastle, Chelsea, Manchester City and Brighton still have left to play in the Premier League

Newcastle currently sit 6th in the Premier League table but are just two points behind Chelsea in 4th and a single point behind struggling Manchester City in 5th.

Brighton are also still firmly in the race as well as they sit in 7th place on the same number of points as Newcastle.

However, thanks to their participation in the League Cup final, Newcastle have a game in hand on all their rivals – against Crystal Palace at St. James’ Park.

There is slightly less jeopardy in the Champions League race this year as 5th place will likely be a qualification spot but the number of teams who could still climb up makes it interesting.

Here is who the four front runners in the race for a Champions League place still have left to face.

Who has the easiest fixtures in the race for a Champions League place?

Six of Newcastle’s remaining 10 games come against teams in the bottom half, including two of the bottom three in hapless Leicester City and Ipswich.

Everton at home on the final day is also a nice way to end the season, given the Toffees shouldn’t have anything left to play for.

One of their bottom-half teams is a gradually improving Manchester United but they should still have the confidence to beat them.

A run of fixtures against Brighton, Chelsea and Arsenal in the final weeks of the campaign does look tough but it’s also a great opportunity to steal points off direct rivals and climb up the table.

City have it much easier, though, as the highest-placed team they have left is Fulham in 8th on the final day as they also still have Southampton, Leicester, Wolves and Everton.

Chelsea have it comfortable for a while but their final four games against Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest is a tricky run-in for a team that has lost its lustre.

Finally, Brighton still have to play fierce rivals Crystal Palace as well as Aston Villa, Brentford, Liverpool, Tottenham and Newcastle.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	29	21	7	1	69	27	42	70
2	ArsenalArsenal	29	16	10	3	53	24	29	58
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	29	16	6	7	49	35	14	54
4	ChelseaChelsea	29	14	7	8	53	37	16	49
5	Man CityManchester City	29	14	6	9	55	40	15	48
6	NewcastleNewcastle	28	14	5	9	47	38	9	47
7	BrightonBrighton	29	12	11	6	48	42	6	47
8	FulhamFulham	29	12	9	8	43	38	5	45
9	Aston VillaAston Villa	29	12	9	8	41	45	-4	45
10	B’mouthBournemouth	29	12	8	9	48	36	12	44

Chelsea and Manchester City, even despite their inconsistent struggles, should remain the front-runners since they have much easier runs of games than both Newcastle and Brighton and much more expensive squads.

However, both are struggling for form and have shown they can be beaten by any team regardless of position.

As long as the cup win boosts Newcastle further rather than being an emotional release that’s hard to recover from, they should be on hand to capitalise on any more slip-ups.

But they must be wary of Fulham, Aston Villa and Bournemouth who all still have an outside chance and will be hoping to take advantage of any mistakes they make.