The growth of Newcastle worries established powers.
A win against Aston Villa at home will move the Saudi-owned team up to third place in the Premier League.
MANCHESTER: Newcastle’s anticipated challenge to the Premier League’s established top six has arrived earlier than expected, and the Magpies are currently in strong contention to qualify for the Champions League next season.
Eddie Howe’s team has moved up to fourth place, passing Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool thanks to a run of 13 points from a possible 15, which includes victories at Manchester United and Tottenham.
The recent shape of Newcastle is not the only cause for concern for the established powers.
With nearly £220 million ($254 million) invested on new players in just one season under Saudi ownership, Newcastle has gone from fighting relegation to challenging for Europe.
Due to the wealth of the Saudi national wealth fund, they will have another opportunity to reinforce with only five Premier League games remaining before the transfer window reopens after the World Cup.
After his team’s 2-1 away victory against Tottenham last weekend, Howe said, “We are very appreciative of the league, we are very respectful of other clubs and their quality, but we genuinely do also believe in ourselves and we believe we can achieve exceptional things with this bunch.”
“It’s just one game, but we want it to happen frequently.”
Newcastle will move up to third place and close the gap on leaders Arsenal to four points with a win over Aston Villa at home on Saturday, despite having played two more games.
Howe rebuked Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp for saying that the Tynesiders have “no ceiling” because of their state-backed fortune, saying that there is more to Newcastle’s success than just money.
Joelinton and Miguel Almiron’s careers have been revived by the former Bournemouth manager, who turned them around from what appeared to be expensive flops during the Mike Ashley era into stars of the current season.
At the top of the standings, where Arsenal and Manchester City are leading the pace, Newcastle’s push for the Champions League spots may leave three of Chelsea, Liverpool, United, and Tottenham outside the top four at the conclusion of the season.
Graham Potter, the manager of Chelsea, is under pressure to get the Blues back to winning in the Premier League when he visits Brighton on Saturday.
Since leaving the south coast last month to take Thomas Tuchel’s position at Stamford Bridge, Potter has won all nine of his games.
The lack of a goal scorer up front, a problem that plagued his predecessor, has been revealed by Chelsea’s two consecutive draws against Brentford and Manchester United. This has caused Chelsea to drop to fifth place.
Positive outlook on where Manchester United are headed under Erik ten Hag is spurred by promising performances against Newcastle, Tottenham, and Chelsea.
But with the Red Devils having won just two of their previous five league games, the Dutchman will also need to convert those accolades into victories when West Ham comes to Old Trafford.
When they play each other on Saturday, Liverpool and Leeds are both in dire need of a victory.
Leeds has fallen into the relegation zone after an eight-game losing streak, and Jesse Marsch is now the favourite to be the next Premier League manager fired.
“In my professional life, I’ve never lost this much. I’m tired of it “On Thursday, the former leader of Leipzig and Salzburg remarked.
I’m not naive; I am fully aware of how tough it will be for the board to continue to back me if we don’t win games.
After a sluggish start to the season, Liverpool seemed to be finding their stride before losing to bottom-of-the-table Nottingham Forest last weekend.
The Reds are currently 12 points off the top of the standings, but the majority of their problems have been away from Anfield, where they haven’t lost in front of a home crowd since 2017.
