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Newcastle need another winning run to consolidate their status

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Image for Newcastle need another winning run to consolidate their status

Newcastle United have endured a rather indifferent campaign, losing to Tottenham Hotspur and Huddersfield Town before securing three consecutive victories against West Ham, Swansea City and Stoke City- firing themselves into the top-half of the table.

That winning run was ended on Sunday afternoon though following a 1-0 defeat to Brighton at the Amex, in a game where Rafael Benitez’ side will feel they could have achieved more, and it raises the stakes ahead of the visit of Liverpool this weekend.

Newcastle have impressed at St. James’ Park this season, with their only defeat on home soil coming against Tottenham on the opening weekend, but Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side will prove to be tricky opposition- and the Magpies could plummet down the standings as a result.

There’s still plenty of football to be played though and Newcastle will look to return to form quickly, with a succession of winnable games falling between the hosting of Liverpool this weekend and the trip to face Manchester United in mid-November.

The Magpies will need to improve their away form, where they’ve won just once, in the coming weeks and face stern tests against the likes of Southampton and Burnley, whilst they’ll expect maximum points from clashes with a struggling Crystal Palace and Bournemouth at St. James.

With that flurry of matches, Newcastle could head to Old Trafford on the 18th November on the back of four matches unbeaten, potentially with a handful of wins, which would put Benitez’ side well on course to reach their objective of the 40-point mark; which should result in safety from relegation.

Crucially though, the tide could certainly turn swiftly if Newcastle struggle in those games as the final six weeks of the calendar year bring difficult games against Chelsea, Everton, Arsenal and Manchester City- where the Magpies will face a stern challenge to avoid hefty defeats.

Newcastle need to be aiming to head into December with around 20 points, which is certainly achievable with their upcoming games and the clashes against West Brom and Watford which follow the trip to Old Trafford, but they’ll need to return to winning ways swiftly.

11 points between now and the end of November should certainly be the minimum objective for Newcastle and a failure to achieve that could change the circumstances dramatically, potentially sucking the Magpies back into the battle at the bottom end of the table.

That means the matches against Bournemouth and Crystal Palace are particularly crucial, as it would extend their advantage over the two struggling sides, but winning games against the bottom-end clubs in the division may not be enough on it’s own.

Newcastle need to aspire to beat the mid-table fodder in the Premier League, something they’ve already shown they’re capable of doing with their three victories so far this season.

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