Set for a 5 horse Premier League title race? Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and… Newcastle United | OneFootball

Newcastle United have to wait until Monday night for their next Premier League action and it’s West Ham at St James’ Park.

A win would see Newcastle end this round of matches sixth in the table, one point off the top three and two points off second, whilst I’d say probably 10 points behind Liverpool at the very top, as I simply can’t see Southampton getting anything off them on Sunday.

The Premier League has had some surprises so far this season.

Liverpool losing at home to Nottingham Forest, Arsenal losing at Bournemouth, though the biggest surprise has to be Manchester City, an absolute thrashing at home on Saturday against Spurs of all teams.

Fair play to Tottenham, they deserved it hands down and really it could have been five or six. It’s the same Spurs side that’s thrashed both Manchester clubs in their own backyard but then lost at home to Ipswich in the most recent Tottenham home game.

Well at least they’re not dull!

We’ve had articles on The Mag during the international break, talking about where Newcastle United could finish.

I think the majority of people went for somewhere between 4th and 6th, which I’d agree with myself.

You know what though, this is probably the most open Premier League campaign in a while.

Man City have dominated the PL for the best part of six or seven years and it’s generally been a two-horse race at best, with Liverpool and then Arsenal in recent seasons.

Man City are normally the team to beat if you want to win the league but I’m not so sure that’s going to be the case this season. It’s probably going to be Liverpool the team to catch this time around. I hope not, as I’ve never liked them but while it’s early I think it’s going to be their title to lose.

So where do Newcastle United fit in this season?

You know something, I think that along with Chelsea, we can think of Newcastle as an outside chance, a longshot, but not impossible, to genuinely challenge for the Premier League this season.

Man City are not as good as they were, a team that’s peaked perhaps? Gone a bit stale?

Arsenal are a very good side but they’re not unbeatable, far from it. I don’t think they have the firepower to win the title and I’m not convinced they ever will under Arteta.

So are Liverpool leaps and bounds ahead of the rest? Not really I’d say. They’re a very good side, plenty of firepower, lots of very good players, a nice blend of experience and youth, but they can be caught. I think NUFC can beat them at St James’ Park and there are plenty of others capable of taking points off them.

Normally, I’d say you need 90 points to win the league and there’s normally a 20 points gap or so down to 4th. I don’t see that happening this time around.

I think 85 or 86 points will be enough this time around and I think around 73 points will be needed for 4th.

By my reckoning, I think Newcastle United will get around 76 points by the end of the season and ultimately will finish 4th. However, I think we will be in a title race along with Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool, going into February. After 24 games, Newcastle United could be within three or four points off the top.

Make or break time for Newcastle United will come when they go to the Etihad and Anfield in regards to title prospects.

I don’t think Newcastle United are going to win the Premier League but if Eddie Howe can have the team on 58-60 points with 10 matches to play (ED: So Newcastle would need 40+ points from their next 17 matches), which I think can be achieved, then we are in for an exciting run in. You never know.

Nobody believed Leicester would do it and people kept saying they’d crack.

I really think we could have a five horse race with two rank outsiders in Newcastle United and Chelsea giving Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool a run for their money.