Newcastle United saw their four match winning streak brought to a close last night at Goodison Park by Everton, issuing a blow to the Magpies in their battle to secure a top-half finish.
Rafael Benitez’s side have already surpassed expectations this season and anything achieved from here until the end of the season is just a bonus, although it’s clear that the Magpies still have plenty to fight for in the final weeks of the campaign.
With four games to go, The Daily Star reveals that the highest position that Newcastle can now finish is seventh, handing them an outside chance of securing a spot in Europa League football next season.
Newcastle are currently 12 points behind seventh-placed Burnley and will need to win all of their four remaining matches to occupy that spot, as well as improving their goal difference by 11, and would require Burnley not to pick up a single point from their final three matches.
Alternatively, a massive turnaround could still see Newcastle relegated back to the Championship but it would require unprecedented improvements by the teams below them.
The Magpies are currently 12 points ahead of both Southampton and Stoke, boasting a far superior goal difference, and just one more point would mathematically secure safety.
