Newcastle United have it all to do against Brentford, and Chris Sutton has given his verdict on whether or not the Magpies are going to qualify for Europe.
After losing 3-2 to Manchester United on Wednesday night, Newcastle United‘s fate now goes down to the final day of the season.
Eddie Howe knows that they can only guarantee European football if they beat Brentford and Chelsea lose to Bournemouth. That would lift the Magpies up to sixth, which would put them into the Europa League or Europa Conference League.
Alternatively, Newcastle could come seventh and end up in the Europa Conference League, but only if they equal or better Manchester United’s result. The Red Devils take on Brighton away from home, which is a tough end to the campaign for them. Toon fans would then need a favour from Manchester City and hope they win the FA Cup on May 25th.
Paul Merson has already predicted that Newcastle will do enough to end the Premier League season in seventh, and now Chris Sutton has given his verdict.
Chris Sutton predicts Brentford vs Newcastle United
Sutton has predicted the score of Newcastle United’s final day trip to Brentford for BBC Sport.
“Brentford’s form has picked up recently and they will want to end the season on a high note, at home on the final day,” he wrote.
“Their manager Thomas Frank has been linked with the Manchester United job, and I understand that in a way, because he’s done an excellent job with the Bees.
“Newcastle United need to at least match Manchester United’s result against Brighton to make sure of finishing seventh. I’m expecting Eddie Howe’s side to do that, but it won’t be easy.”
Sutton prediction: Brentford 2 Newcastle 2
Whether Sutton thinks Newcastle will come seventh
A draw would be a nervy end to the season for Newcastle United, and mean that they are unable to leapfrog Chelsea into sixth.
It would also mean that the Magpies are relying on Man United to drop points, otherwise they could miss out on Europe completely.
But Sutton believes Erik ten Hag’s side will drop points, predicting them to lose 2-1 at the Amex Stadium.
That would mean Newcastle end the season in seventh and face an agonising wait to discover whether or not they have made it into Europe. It would then all depend on what happens in the FA Cup final, where Manchester City face Manchester United at Wembley.
That feels like the most likely outcome, but a draw away to Brentford would leave Toon nerves jangling as supporters pray that Brighton do them a favour. That is not an ideal situation, and Howe will want his side to go out and win to put pressure on Chelsea and keep Man United below them.
But that will be tough given their away record. Newcastle have been really poor on the road and picked up just 17 points, and it is a big reason why this season has been nowhere near as successful as last year, when they won 32 away points.
However, Newcastle can take inspiration from their last two visits to Brentford. They beat them 2-0 away from home in 2022, while last year they came from behind to win 2-1.
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