With the Premier League title now wrapped up, alongside the relegated sides sinking without a trace, the only real point of drama in England's elite division rests on the race to finish inside the top five positions.
Newcastle United, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa all find themselves closely bunched together in the thrilling division heading into the final games of the season, with Sunday's early kick-off between the Magpies and Enzo Maresca's Blues a potential humdinger in terms of who clinches a coveted European spot.
Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo reacts
Obviously, Eddie Howe's men will be hoping Champions League football returns to St James' Park over any other destination, knowing full well that landing targets such as Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo will be dependent on whether they're able to make these European dreams a reality.
Newcastle's ongoing Mbeumo pursuit
Adding in Mbeumo would make Newcastle's already frightening attack even more of a mouth-watering watch, but the Magpies aren't alone in wanting the Bees' star-man.
Recent reports suggest that Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are all also keen on snapping up the entertaining forward, with this frenzied interest coming about off the back of Brentford allegedly being ready to listen to offers for their £60m-rated ace.
After all, Howe's men know all about the 25-year-old's exceptional firepower, considering he rifled home this stunning effort back in December versus the Toon.
Up to 18 league goals now for the season, he would undoubtedly boost Newcastle's forward positions which already boast the likes of Alexander Isak.
Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo celebrates scoring their first goal
But, St James' Park might already be the home of a talent very similar to the in-demand Cameroonian, with many a shout forming now that this enthralling attacker should start in the crunch clash later today versus Chelsea.
Newcastle's own version of Mbeumo
Newcastle fans watching on will pray that their side are at their free-flowing best against the Blues, with only Liverpool and Manchester City scoring more this season in league action than the Magpies' impressive 66-goal haul.
Isak has chipped in with a sizeable 23 of those strikes, but faces such as Anthony Gordon have also been a joy to watch in this regard, with nine goals and six assists from the ex-Everton man in league action enabling that goal total to steadily increase.
Further, adding Gordon back into the main XI for the tricky challenge of Chelsea could prove to be an inspired alteration when you realise he bagged this sweet strike versus the Blues just last season, away from impressing recently off the substitutes' bench.
With Jacob Murphy suffering from a crisis in confidence as of late too - with just one weak effort registered against Brighton and Hove Albion last time out - Gordon could even be pushed out to the right flank for the Toon to replace the ex-Norwich City man, with the usually left-sided winger equally capable of making an impact here in what is Mbeumo's preferred spot on the pitch.
Gordon's FBref numbers over the last year vs Mbeumo's
Stat - per 90 mins
Shots
Shot-creating actions
Attempted passes
Pass completion %
Progressive passes
Progressive carries
Successful take-ons
Touches in attacking penalty area
Progressive passes received
Stats by FBref
The table above further illuminates their similarities - as noted by FBref - as fast-paced attackers more content with peppering opposition goalkeepers than linking play up, but Gordon does amazingly better his £60m counterpart when taking in many of the numbers, despite Mbeumo being way ahead of the 24-year-old's goal count.
Therefore, it remains to be seen whether Newcastle will splash the cash on attempting to land Mbeumo after all, knowing they already have their own "nightmare" - as Gordon once confidently labelled himself - attacker in a similar vein to the Bees star.
Gordon-Newcastle-Howe
The former Toffees winger will hope he can live up to his own hype if he is handed a start versus Chelsea, with the Toon needing to be on their A-game from minute one to blow away Maresca's challengers.
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