Rafa Benitez predicts whether Newcastle United will qualify for the Champions League after Liverpool loss

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Newcastle United’s hopes of returning to the Champions League took a slight dent against Liverpool.

The wretched record at Anfield continued on Wednesday night with Newcastle United losing 2-0 to Liverpool following goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.

Eddie Howe’s line-up raised eyebrows with Alexander Isak completely absent from the squad. Liverpool fans mocked Callum Wilson after he struggled to fill Isak’s boots, but there were some positives from the performance.

Newcastle gave away two soft goals but went toe-to-toe with the Premier League leaders. They will have to go up another gear if they plan on winning next month’s Carabao Cup final against the Merseyside outfit.

The result leaves Newcastle sixth in the Premier League table. Ironically, Newcastle fans may have to support Liverpool in Europe this season so that there are five Champions League qualification spots available.

Rafa Benitez makes Newcastle Champions League prediction

After beating Nottingham Forest, Alan Shearer backed Newcastle to reach the Champions League provided that Howe’s side are not distracted by the cup final.

Now with 11 Premier League games remaining, former Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez has predicted whether Newcastle will return to the Champions League.

Speaking on TNT Sports, Benitez said: “I think they have a chance, because I said before the last 10 games is when you play for something.

“A couple of games you win and the other teams they are not consistent, so a couple of wins and you could be there. And it’s massive for any club now.”

What is next for Newcastle in Champions League chase

On top of Benitez and Shearer, a supercomputer predicted Champions League football for Newcastle next season based on their remaining fixtures and form.

However, Newcastle are still fighting on three fronts this season and next up is a visit from Brighton in the FA Cup fifth round. Howe wants his side to target silverware and Gary Lineker believes Newcastle can win two trophies this season.

After a tricky run of fixtures against Manchester City, Forest and Liverpool Newcastle can now look forward to some more favourable league clashes – although there is no guarantee of points.

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Up next in the league is a trip to West Ham, which is the final game before the Carabao Cup final. After the March international break, Newcastle resume against Brentford before facing Leicester City three days later.

These will be crucial games in Newcastle’s Champions League push.