Newcastle United 2-0 Athletic Club: Joe Buck reaction
Newcastle United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Arsenal all picked up wins in the Champions League this week.
Newcastle United took a big step towards Champions League group phase qualification with a 2-0 win over Athletic Club on Wednesday night at St James’ Park.
Goals from Dan Burn and Joelinton saw Newcastle make it three wins in a row in the competition to move up to sixth in the overall table with nine points out of a possible 12.
The Magpies’ nine points and healthy goal difference sees them in a strong position with four group phase games left to play.
A top eight finish would be enough to secure progress straight to the last-16 of the competition. Finishing ninth to 24th results in a seeded play-off tie for a spot in the last-16.
While Newcastle reached the last-16 of the Champions League back in 2002/03, they have never played a knockout match in the competition. But the new format has improved their chances of doing that this season.
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Newcastle United’s upcoming Champions League fixtures
Following the Athletic Club match, Newcastle have back-to-back Champions League away matches against Marseille and Bayer Leverkusen before hosting PSV Eindhoven in the new year. They wrap up their group phase campaign away to Paris Saint-Germain at the end of January.
Last season, 11 points from the eight group phase matches saw three teams, including Manchester City, advance to the play-off round of the competition on goal difference. While 16 points was enough for Aston Villa to secure the final top eight spot and progress straight to the last-16.
Given how the results in the opening four matchdays have unfolded, the points total required to advance to the next stage of the competition is expected to be lower this season.
According to data experts, Opta, as few as nine points could be enough to finish in the top 24, while 15 points is expected to be the benchmark for a top eight finish.
Opta predicts final Champions League table
It was a positive week for English clubs in the Champions League with Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Newcastle all picking up wins, while Chelsea were held to a draw at Qarabag.
Newcastle’s predicted finish, according to the data experts, would see them face Eintracht Frankfurt in the play-off round. Though the reality is likely to be quite different.
Here is the predicted table in full...
36. Kairat Almaty - 3.12xpts
35. Ajax - 4.07xpts
34. Bodo/Glimt - 4.89xpts
33. FC Copenhagen - 5.24xpts
32. Benfica - 5.87xpts
31. Slavia Prague - 6.09xpts
30. Athletic Club - 7.15xpts
29. Villarreal - 7.23xpts
28. Marseille - 7.29xpts
27. Olympiacos - 7.48xpts
26. Union Saint-Gilloise - 7.75xpts
25. PSV Eindhoven - 8.71xpts
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24. Eintracht Frankfurt - 8.86xpts
23. Pafos - 9.01xpts
22. Juventus - 9.22xpts
21. Club Brugge - 9.65xpts
20. Bayer Leverkusen - 9.98xpts
19. Monaco - 10.10xpts
18. Napoli - 10.38xpts
17. Qarabag - 10.52xpts
16. Sporting CP - 11.78xpts
15. Atalanta - 12.42xpts
14. Atletico Madrid - 12.58xpts
13. Galatasaray - 13.55xpts
12. Borussia Dortmund - 13.77xpts
11. Tottenham Hotspur - 13.94xpts
10. Chelsea - 14.10xpts
9. Newcastle United - 14.78xpts
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8. Barcelona - 14.80xpts
7. Real Madrid - 16.06xpts
6. Paris Saint-Germain - 16.665. Real Madrid - 16.95xpts
5. Inter Milan - 16.88xpts
4. Liverpool - 17.08xpts
3. Manchester City - 18.02xpts
2. Bayern Munich - 19.29xpts
1. Arsenal - 20.25xpts
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