Newcastle United are aiming to get back to playing European football after narrowly missing out last season.
The Magpies finished seventh in the Premier League last season, but it would not be enough as Manchester United won the FA Cup which took the remaining European place away from their clutches.
Newcastle would have played in the Europa Conference League – a competition where they would be considered one of the favourites to win the competition outright.
Instead, Chelsea are playing in the tournament and look unstoppable. Newcastle played Champions League football last season, failing to make it out of the group stage, despite memorial games against PSG, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund.
Fans will remember Newcastle’s historic win against PSG at St James’ Park fondly. The Magpies were unstoppable on the night as they won one of the biggest games in the club’s history.
While Newcastle are in a good position to play European football again next season, a Premier League rival has the opportunity to give them a huge chance of qualifying for Europe’s top competition.
Manchester City Champions League win a boost for Newcastle
English clubs have performed exceptionally in Europe so far this season. Liverpool have won every game in the Champions League. Arsenal sit third and Aston Villa are ninth. Manchester City have not had the best of times in Europe this season, however, and risk elimination on Wednesday.
Other performances mean that England leads the race for an extra Champions League spot next season. According to The Times, the chances of achieving that will increase if Man City beats Club Brugge to qualify for the next stage of the competition.
While Newcastle will be aiming for a top-four finish England’s performances could mean that a fifth-place finish would be enough to qualify for the Champions League next season.
The Magpies currently sit fifth in the Premier League table, level on points with Man City.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 4 |  Man CityManchester City | 23 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 47 | 30 | 17 | 41 |
| 5 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 23 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 41 | 27 | 14 | 41 |
Newcastle qualifying for the Champions League would also be a huge boost in their chances of keeping ahold of Alexander Isak.
Arsenal want Isak who could cost as much as £150m in the summer. Isak wants Champions League football and believes Newcastle can give it to him.
It has been a tough season for Eddie Howe who will be eager to return to Europe. Despite solid league finishes in the last two seasons, Newcastle insiders have stressed that the club are not a regular top-four challenger yet.
One incident that hampered Newcastle in the Champions League
Things could have been much different for Newcastle this season had it not been for one incident that derailed their whole Champions League campaign.
Toon fans will still fume at the controversial handball awarded against Newcastle in their dramatic draw against PSG in Paris.
In the dying minutes of the game, the ball ricocheted off Tino Livramento’s chest onto his arm. After a VAR check, a penalty was awarded which Kylian Mbappe scored.
Livramento admitted he felt ‘terrible’ after the incident. The win cost Newcastle a place in the knockout stages of the Europa League at least. It would have been a boost to the UEFA Coefficient rankings which could have handed Newcastle a spot in a European competition this season.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
