With three wins and a draw in our four games following the recent international break, Newcastle United are flying, up to sixth in the Premier League and finding form at the perfect time.
We leapfrogged Man Utd on Saturday and moved two clear of West Ham – who lost 2-0 at home to Fulham and have played a game more – but Chelsea are just three points behind us with a game in hand after they battered Everton 6-0 on Monday night.
It feels like a four-horse race for sixth. Here are the remaining fixtures for all of the above:
Newcastle (50pts) fixtures – Palace (A), Sheffield Utd (H), Burnley (A), Brighton (H), Man Utd (A), Brentford (A)
Man Utd (50pts) fixtures – Sheffield Utd (H), Burnley (H), Palace (A), Arsenal (H), Newcastle (H), Brighton (A)
Chelsea (47pts) fixtures – Arsenal (A), Villa (A), Spurs (H), West Ham (H), Forest (A), Brighton (A), Bournemouth (H)
West Ham (48pts) fixtures – Palace (A), Liverpool (H), Chelsea (A), Luton (H), Man City (A)
Firstly, I can’t see West Ham causing us problems. We are two points clear, have far superior goal difference, much better fixtures and a game in hand.
Chelsea are showing signs of finding form and they do have a game in hand, but they have some really tough fixtures against Arsenal, Villa and Spurs. West Ham at home, Forest away (while fighting to stay up) and Brighton away are also tricky.
I look at our remaining fixtures and can make a case for us winning all six. That’s unlikely, I know, but we look a far better side than Man Utd; who could easily lose any of their final four games, in my opinion.
Let’s hope we can get the business done over the coming weeks – we have four very winnable games to come – and then avoid defeat at Old Trafford in our penultimate game of 2023/24.
For anyone hoping we might be able to catch Tottenham in fifth, here’s their remaining six games:
Tottenham (60pts) fixtures – Arsenal (H), Chelsea (A), Liverpool (A), Burnley (H), Man City (H), Sheffield Utd (A)
