Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe
Newcastle United's final Premier League position has been predicted ahead of their last match of the season.
Eddie Howe and Co. are getting ready to face Everton in their final top-flight fixture of the campaign and know a win against the Toffees would secure a return to the Champions League.
The Magpies are currently fourth in the Premier League table and will need to finish in the top five in order to clinch Champions League qualification. The Toon are level on points with both Chelsea in fifth and Aston Villa in sixth ahead of kick-off, and are also just one point ahead of seventh-placed Nottingham Forest.
However, with Enzo Maresca and Nuno Espirito Santo set to face off at the City Ground this afternoon, the neutral could be set for an exciting final day.
Ahead of the last round of fixtures, Opta Analyst have attempted to predict what the final Premier League table will look like by 6.30pm on Sunday evening.
The site has crunched the numbers and believes that Newcastle will stay in fourth place with 68.26 points to their name, though that of course is impossible given a win would take them onto 69 points and a draw would only take them to 67. Man City are predicted to hold onto third with 69.92, but again, that's more likely to be 71 points.
This would be enough to finish ahead of Aston Villa in fifth on a predicted 67.82 and Chelsea in sixth on 67.55. However, if Villa were to finish in the top-five and usurp the Blues, that would mean a win for Unai Emery's side at Man United, taking them onto 69 points and a draw for Chelsea against Forest, taking Maresca's men onto 67 points.
It would be a huge twist on the final day, with the Blues boasting a huge goal difference advantage over Villa ahead of kick-off.
If this prediction was to prove accurate, Newcastle would join Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City and Aston Villa in qualifying for the Champions League via their Premier League position.
Tottenham Hotspur have also already cliched qualification thanks to their victory in the Europa League final.
Newcastle have been given an 83.23% chance of qualifying for the Champions League on Sunday afternoon.
Man City's chances are higher (96.7%) according to the predicted table, but the Magpies are more likely than Villa (43.64%), Chelsea (56.8%) and Nottingham Forest (19.63%) to be playing Champions League football.