Paul Merson has given his verdict on whether or not Newcastle United will qualify for Europe on Saturday.
The Magpies’ fate is now out of their hands following the 3-2 defeat to Manchester United on Wednesday night. It was a really disappointing display at Old Trafford, and one that was littered with individual mistakes. All three of Man United’s goal were avoidable.
Now Newcastle United need to equal or better Man United’s result on Sunday to finish above them, while they have to beat Brentford and hope Chelsea lose to have any chance of leapfrogging them into sixth.
And sixth is the only thing that will guarantee European football next season. Seventh could also mean that the passports are required, but only if Manchester City beat Man United in the FA Cup final on May 25th.
Newcastle are relying on others, but their main focus has to be on ending the 2023/24 season with a win on the road. They have been hard to come by this campaign, and Paul Merson has given his verdict on whether they will get one.
Paul Merson predicts Brentford vs Newcastle United
As part of his latest column for Sportskeeda, Paul Merson has predicted the scores of every Premier League game this weekend.
He has backed the Magpies to end the year with a win, predicting a score of Brentford 1 Newcastle 2. The former Arsenal forward has also reflected on a challenging campaign for Eddie Howe’s side, and has implored them keep to keep their top stars.
“Newcastle need to win this as if Chelsea lose, they have a chance of making it into next season’s Europa League due to their superior goal difference,” he said.
“They’ve had a decent season and were bang unlucky in the Champions League. You could also argue that they were a bit naive against Paris Saint-Germain, but it is all a part of the learning curve.
“They need to look to keep their players as teams are going to be sniffing around for Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes. They are a massive team, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of their stars moved on to win trophies. If Arsenal sign a striker like Isak, I think they go to another level.”
Merson determines whether Newcastle will make it into Europe
Merson has backed Newcastle to win on the final day of the season, which would guarantee them at least a seventh-place finish in the Premier League.
In fact, he thinks it will be a comfortable final day for the Magpies, as he has actually backed Manchester United to lose to Brighton – tipping the Seagulls to do what we should have but couldn’t on Wednesday.
But Merson also believes that Chelsea will beat Bournemouth on Sunday, meaning they would finish sixth.
If Merson’s prediction proves to be correct, Newcastle fans would suddenly be buying Man City shirts in preparation for the upcoming FA Cup final. Them winning at Wembley would give Newcastle a route into the Europa Conference League, which would be a positive end to a challenging year.
It would also give Newcastle a chance at winning a trophy next season, with Toon fans desperate to see Eddie Howe bring silverware to St James’ Park.
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