Newcastle United draw closer to Champions League berth as Man United visit
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Newcastle United's Joelinton (left) tussling with Leicester City's Wilfred Ndidi during their EPL match on April 7.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
LONDON – Newcastle United can take a step towards qualifying for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons on April 13, when they host a Manchester United side eyeing on their own European obligations.
Newcastle enter the weekend tied with Chelsea on 53 points. They also have a match in hand due to their League Cup final victory over Liverpool.
With the Premier League officially securing a fifth berth in next season’s Champions League earlier this week based on the league’s European performances this term, the Magpies should fancy their chances in a race for fifth that will also include Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Newcastle go into the encounter having won four in a row – including three straight in the league. Those wins came despite only one goal from Swedish international Alexander Isak, whose 20-goal tally is third-best in the Premier League.
But the Magpies could be without manager Eddie Howe on Sunday because he has battled illness most of the week. In his place, assistant coach Jason Tindall reiterated they are taking nothing for granted.
“With eight games to go, there are a lot of teams fighting for the same as what we are,” Tindall said. “All we can control is our own performances and what we do.”
Meanwhile, the Red Devils enter the clash either side of their two-legged Europa League quarter-final against Lyon. The English side earned a 2-2 draw in the first leg in France on April 10.
With manager Ruben Amorim’s 13th-placed side squarely out of contention for European spots this term, the priority has to be on the April 17 return leg.
However, Amorim said they do not have enough squad depth to make wholesale changes. In the 2016-17 season, Jose Mourinho went for heavy rotation in the Premier League as United went on to win the Europa League, and Amorim was asked if he planned on doing the same.
“We don’t have a team that is really big to do that and then we have some players that I know cannot make 90 minutes,” Amorim said.
“Sometimes, winning games is the best way of preparing the next one. I’m going to be careful with some players but we need to be competitive and when you are playing for Manchester United, you cannot go into the game thinking about the next one.”
Captain Bruno Fernandes has played every minute of the last 20 games for United, and could be rested at St James’ Park.
“We will make this evaluation with all the data that we have,” Amorim said. “But Bruno Fernandes is playing all the time and is playing better all the time. Sometimes this kind of player has to play in every match.”
In December’s reverse fixture with Newcastle,
Since then, the 23-year-old Dutchman has converted the winning penalty
“He’s doing a great job but also a very important thing was the way the fans reacted after that incident. If Josh is not playing, every time he gets on the pitch or just warming up, our fans sing the Josh song so that is massive for the player,” he said. REUTERS
