Premier League Prediction Thread 2025/2026

[shinratensei_]

A lot of chaos happening at Man United is scary for coach Ruben Amorin because he cannot make the club better in addition to the news they do not have the funds to buy players in this transfer.

This weekend Man United have to go to Anfield where Liverpool are fierce at home, how do you believe Man United will win? I think there will be many people skeptical about it.

Looking at the Liverpool vs Man United match odds where Man United odds @9.80 who dares to take the betting odds?
Maybe only diehard fans will take those odds.

Man Utd are an awful team at the moment but this is football, anything can happen. I think and hope Liverpool will win but you never know.

Arsenal could be 3 points behind us before we play Man Utd so we need to win this one.

I wish Manchester United would upset Liverpool when they play against each other on Sunday, but the poor performance of Manchester United will not give them the chance to beat Liverpool, and they are visiting Liverpool at Anfield, which even makes it very difficult for them to beat Liverpool. In as much as I hate Liverpool beating Manchester United in this game, there's nothing Manchester United will do to stop this defeat and put a smile on my face by beating Liverpool or drawing against Liverpool. I just hope Liverpool does not score so many goals against Manchester United like they did in the first season of Erik Ten Hag as Manchester United head coach.

It'd  better to prepare your mentality to face the reality if Manchester United will be destroyed once again by Liverpool. They have no chance to win nor draw in the upcoming game. I don't even think they have can match their opponent in this game.

Amorim is gonna struggle until the end of season. I truly believe they will be booed by their fans once again. I patiently wait to see such moment to happen with United soon.

Talking for the bet, that's obvious Liverpool is my pickm though they offered small odds, but i can get easy money from this game.

[pusaka]

Manchester United's chances of winning are very low. If Manchester United continue to perform the way they have in the last few matches, they will lose by a big margin against Liverpool. We have seen Manchester United lose by a big margin against Bournemouth, Wolves and Newcastle. In such a situation, Manchester United's chances of performing well against a strong team like Liverpool are very low.

Liverpool has won 3-0 against Manchester United in the last two matches. United's defense is very weak. So Liverpool has a big chance of winning this match too. Moreover, this match is Liverpool's home match. Liverpool players will definitely be more confident at home. I don't see the chances of Manchester United winning.

In order for Manchester United not to lose this game with Liverpool, something like a sending off for Liverpool or maybe a penalty and an exemplary performance by Manchester United in defense must happen, but we see that they are simply not capable of this, because they are too weak at the moment. And it seems to me that Amorim has not done anything that could strengthen the team, on the contrary, he is trying to introduce his own rules, to show that he is the boss there, but in my opinion, so far, this is only doing harm.

Getting 3 consecutive defeats against teams that are not better than Liverpool makes their chances of winning when facing Liverpool a small chance. because Liverpool is in good form, and even though they will play as the away team in this match, I don't think it will have much effect. Honestly, I am pessimistic about Manchester United being able to put up a fight against Liverpool, unless they are in a very lucky situation or Liverpool plays badly and has bad luck. But they can't expect something like that, because after all they are the ones who will determine whether they will be able to put up a fight that gets points or not at all.

[AirtelBuzz]

No lies, this performance is outstanding coming from Mo Salah this season. Liverpool have played a total of 18 matches this season and out of these 18 games they featured, Salah was able to pull up with 30 goals contribution this season and 17 goals straight outta. 45 points for Liverpool is a good point for the team this season with 3 draws and 1 loss and a total of 18 matches played. Arne Slot is a blessing to Liverpool this season with his well positioning and repositioning of the team to remain firm on their feet and climb up their ladder.

Actually every player of Liverpool team is performing great in this season i.e. they are giving their best performance in every match and winning the match against the opponent. We can mention the name of Md Salah as an example of some of the players who have performed best for Liverpool this season. The way Mohamed Salah has performed this season, I think he might be having the best performance of his career this season. Mohamed Salah has played an important role in all the matches Liverpool have won so far. Liverpool are at the top of the points table due to their good performance in every match, their total points at the moment is 45.

[punk.zink]

Getting 3 consecutive defeats against teams that are not better than Liverpool makes their chances of winning when facing Liverpool a small chance. because Liverpool is in good form, and even though they will play as the away team in this match, I don't think it will have much effect. Honestly, I am pessimistic about Manchester United being able to put up a fight against Liverpool, unless they are in a very lucky situation or Liverpool plays badly and has bad luck. But they can't expect something like that, because after all they are the ones who will determine whether they will be able to put up a fight that gets points or not at all.

I don't see Man United having a chance here because this is an away game and they have to play against the strongest team this season, so it won't be hard to predict how this match will end. Liverpool and Man United really have a very obvious difference in performance, where Liverpool is very consistent and is also in on fire condition, while Man United is in the opposite condition, where they are in a slump condition and have always lost in their last three matches. Man United will be very fortunate if they do not lose by more than 2 goals.

[Ahli38]

Liverpool is in its best form, while Man united is still in the trial and adaptation phase of tactics with Amorim, Liverpool should be able to dominate and win in this match. So far, the H2H of the two are likely:

Manchester United are on a bad form while Liverpool are on a good run therefore Manchester United doesn't stand a chance of winning this game. Manchester United would have only stand a chance when they were in a good form and the results would still had been a draw as Liverpool are on a chase for the title and won't be letting any point that they can secure to go to waste. Manchester United need some signings for things to begin to work in their favour as they have a new manager that needs his own players to get results. The head to head statistics favours Liverpool overall but for the last 5 games, both teams have a similar wins but Liverpool won last 2 games.

The biggest possibility is that Liverpool will win in the match against Manchester United. because Manchester United's condition was not very stable after Amorim arrived. Although the reason is because Amorim is still carrying out several tactical trials for this team and several player rotations continue to be carried out. And the results are still not good until now. But I appreciate Amorim for his courage in making many strategy trials and player rotations in Manchester United's main squad or in their starting eleven. It's just that in the match against Liverpool I don't think Amorim can continue to make trials. He must summarize all the results of his research and apply the best that has been obtained so far. If not, they could experience a big defeat. Because we know Liverpool are currently very difficult to stop and they are also quite active in scoring goals. Meanwhile, Manchester United are still having difficulties in their back line.

[gabbie2010]

I get you but what I'm trying to say is, some might be saying there is still time like Arsenal but if you don't get the job done you'll be left behind so doing the needful now is better than having the hope of saying there's still time, if you see the remaining time left as the deadline and you start putting more effort I think things will fall in place for you, hope you get me Mr. I don't think I need to explain myself more than I have already.

Everything can still change if Liverpool experiences a sharp decline in the middle of this season but if Arne Slot can maintain Liverpool's consistency then Arsenal clearly has no chance of becoming champions this season, if the points difference is thin then Arsenal still has time to turn things around but the points difference between Arsenal and Liverpool is quite far and Liverpool still has 1 match that has not been played so for now we can only see how far Liverpool maintains its performance because we don't know what will happen after entering the second half.

In premier league no team is guaranteed the title untill the last day of the season, though Liverpool currently leads the table with 6 points over Arsenal with an outstanding match, however it's very hard to maintain consistency in premier league, recall last week Chelsea got humbled by lowly rated Ipwich Town got beaten 2-0 even Man Utd who had been in a bad run and poor form might prove strong against Liverpool in their next match, the second half of the league would be even more tougher because relegation battling clubs would fight hard to escape relegation thus cause a lot of problem for strong clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City.

[bitLeap]

Actually every player of Liverpool team is performing great in this season i.e. they are giving their best performance in every match and winning the match against the opponent. We can mention the name of Md Salah as an example of some of the players who have performed best for Liverpool this season. The way Mohamed Salah has performed this season, I think he might be having the best performance of his career this season. Mohamed Salah has played an important role in all the matches Liverpool have won so far. Liverpool are at the top of the points table due to their good performance in every match, their total points at the moment is 45.

For this season there is nothing I need to worry about Liverpool in the Premier League or the Champions League but next season will be a big question. Considering some Liverpool players like Moh Salah and Trent Alexander Arnold are at the forefront and may leave. We need the right replacement to maintain stability. Liverpool players are filled with many senior players and if there is no regeneration then there will be chaos.

[Jatiluhung]

The fact that Nottingham Forrest is second right now is insane, and shows the whole world how money isn't the only solution. During the season of 2020-2021 Nottingham Forrest finished CHAMPIONSHIP as 17th of the league, literally one league below premier league, they were 17th in that league, just in 20-21 season, not only they went up to premier league, but they are second right now, which I am sure will go down eventually, I am not expecting them to stay there, but that doesn't change the fact that they will 99.99% finish higher than what people believe they could.

Look at teams like United for comparison, they are spending hundreds of millions every year, and still end up in big debt, that's the biggest issue and I believe that's their trouble, they can't make that work any other way, which is the biggest trouble they have.

Nottingham forest is indeed extraordinary and no one expected the team coached by Nuno Espirito to be better this season. yes last season we saw Nottingham forest almost approaching the relegation zone because they finished in 17th position but now Nottingham forest has developed very far which is now in 3rd position because they were able to take points from Everton and I see Nottingham forest really has a strong defense so that if he plays what I see the opposing team is very difficult to score goals against Nottingham forest. in this case money is not everything but of course in this case it is a factor of luck and also from strategy and formation and the role of the coach which will certainly make a team strong and apparently here Nuno is really great.

I personally am also still not sure that he will be able to finish as champions at the end of the season but what is certain is that Nottingham even though they don't become champions, I am sure they will be able to get tickets to the Champions League and this is very good and is what Nottingham forest fans want. But I personally think that Nottingham Forest is very great even though the costs incurred are not as much as other clubs which spend a lot of money, but in my opinion in this case the luck factor can also occur because usually with money there is great potential for us to get good and talented players.

[Weawant]

On October Tottenham performance is very impressive because on that month Tottenham can win 5 times from 7 matches in all competitions but since November everything was change that some of their players which mostly defender players are got injury and this makes Tottenham performance were decline and until today some of the players still hasn't recover yet which makes Ange Postecoglou don't have much option for the players

Newcastle are in the full of confidence to facing this match because Newcastle recent record is very impressive that Newcastle can get 5 winning streak in all competitions and they can able to scores 16 goals and only conceded 1 goal and their player Alexander Isak is onfire because he can scores 5 goals in the last 3 matches with Newcastle so judging from the recent condition of both teams i think Newcastle is the winner of this match

This game is one i anticipate to be a very tough one because i saw the way Newcastle played against Manchester United and i got so much confidence tin them that they can be able to probably win other teams by their performance, especially for a team like Tottenham that has been unstable and not consistent enough this season with their performance so its very possible they loose this game only that they have got some home advantage and may use that over castle but I'm very mush optimistic about castle.

[JeffBrad12]

On October Tottenham performance is very impressive because on that month Tottenham can win 5 times from 7 matches in all competitions but since November everything was change that some of their players which mostly defender players are got injury and this makes Tottenham performance were decline and until today some of the players still hasn't recover yet which makes Ange Postecoglou don't have much option for the players

Newcastle are in the full of confidence to facing this match because Newcastle recent record is very impressive that Newcastle can get 5 winning streak in all competitions and they can able to scores 16 goals and only conceded 1 goal and their player Alexander Isak is onfire because he can scores 5 goals in the last 3 matches with Newcastle so judging from the recent condition of both teams i think Newcastle is the winner of this match

Newcastle is a way better than Totenham in term of team balancing. They're good at attack and defense. Unlike Totenham, which is quite sharpness in attack, but terrible at defense. Newcastle is in the way moving up, meanwhile, Totenham is declining.

2.29 for Newcastle is a very tempting odds considering they can win the game so easily against Totenham. Let's expect Tottenham to use a high-line defense in the upcoming game. They're committing suicide.

I have faith Newcastle to win the game. Also. it's very important to mention how Isaac is on fire now.

[Jody.Drummer]

On October Tottenham performance is very impressive because on that month Tottenham can win 5 times from 7 matches in all competitions but since November everything was change that some of their players which mostly defender players are got injury and this makes Tottenham performance were decline and until today some of the players still hasn't recover yet which makes Ange Postecoglou don't have much option for the players

Newcastle are in the full of confidence to facing this match because Newcastle recent record is very impressive that Newcastle can get 5 winning streak in all competitions and they can able to scores 16 goals and only conceded 1 goal and their player Alexander Isak is onfire because he can scores 5 goals in the last 3 matches with Newcastle so judging from the recent condition of both teams i think Newcastle is the winner of this match

This game is one i anticipate to be a very tough one because i saw the way Newcastle played against Manchester United and i got so much confidence tin them that they can be able to probably win other teams by their performance, especially for a team like Tottenham that has been unstable and not consistent enough this season with their performance so its very possible they loose this game only that they have got some home advantage and may use that over castle but I'm very mush optimistic about castle.

Newcastle are in good shape, and on the other hand Tottenham are in a less favorable state after they got negative results in the last few matches. But still this is not something that is easy to predict, because after all Tottenham is also a good club actually, but their declining performance makes it difficult for them to compete as usual. Their advantage will be the host in this match, maybe that's what I see from their advantage, at least until this meeting occurs. Newcastle must be careful if they want to continue their positive results. But I also do not rule out the possibility that this result will end in a draw.

[Jatiluhung]

of course, Arne Slot does not want to waste opportunities in all matches and he is not typically the one who will underestimate opponents. In the next match, man united was not that consistent, but they also cannot be underestimated.

Liverpool is in its best form, while Man united is still in the trial and adaptation phase of tactics with Amorim, Liverpool should be able to dominate and win in this match. So far, the H2H of the two are likely:

Source: Liverpool vs Manchester United

indeed it certainly seems like Arne slot will not take it lightly because of course no matter what Man United is a team that cannot be underestimated, yes, even though Man United is currently not performing well in their performance, of course a professional coach like Arne slot will certainly not take it lightly because usually underestimating the opposing team will certainly have a bad effect on a team's performance. if you look at H2H, Liverpool is certainly superior and of course Liverpool should be able to win easily in the upcoming match because Liverpool has good experience when facing Man United. in 2025 this just see what happens with Man United's performance, we'll just watch it together. but I hope that in that match there will be tight competition because of course it will be exciting.

[Palakka]

Actually every player of Liverpool team is performing great in this season i.e. they are giving their best performance in every match and winning the match against the opponent. We can mention the name of Md Salah as an example of some of the players who have performed best for Liverpool this season. The way Mohamed Salah has performed this season, I think he might be having the best performance of his career this season. Mohamed Salah has played an important role in all the matches Liverpool have won so far. Liverpool are at the top of the points table due to their good performance in every match, their total points at the moment is 45.

For this season there is nothing I need to worry about Liverpool in the Premier League or the Champions League but next season will be a big question. Considering some Liverpool players like Moh Salah and Trent Alexander Arnold are at the forefront and may leave. We need the right replacement to maintain stability. Liverpool players are filled with many senior players and if there is no regeneration then there will be chaos.

Liverpool has shown extraordinary performance and consistency this season, not only in the EPL but they also look very tough in the UCL, we can say if their current position is quite comfortable in the two competitions, but the problems and speculation that hit their main players at this time will certainly greatly affect the stability and morale of the team later, I think Liverpool must immediately resolve the contract issues of Salah, Arnold and Van Djik at this time if they do not want it to affect the performance and championship chance of their in league, actually Liverpool have many talented young players who can become successors for their main players in future, but I think their main focus at this time must find certainty about the future of Salah, Arnold and Van Djik because their are important players.

[Republikcoin.com]

Newcastle are in good shape, and on the other hand Tottenham are in a less favorable state after they got negative results in the last few matches. But still this is not something that is easy to predict, because after all Tottenham is also a good club actually, but their declining performance makes it difficult for them to compete as usual. Their advantage will be the host in this match, maybe that's what I see from their advantage, at least until this meeting occurs. Newcastle must be careful if they want to continue their positive results. But I also do not rule out the possibility that this result will end in a draw.

Tottenham Hotspur, who are currently slightly behind several teams in the Premier League and have been outside the top ten, must certainly try harder in their home game when they face Newcastle tomorrow. Meanwhile, Newcastle will also try to win because Newcastle is currently very close to the top four zone so their match that will take place tomorrow can certainly be more fierce and it is indeed difficult to predict who will win the match. But if Newcastle loses tomorrow, of course it will be very detrimental to Newcastle because their position could change back to a worse position than it is now.

[Dickiy]

of course, Arne Slot does not want to waste opportunities in all matches and he is not typically the one who will underestimate opponents. In the next match, man united was not that consistent, but they also cannot be underestimated.

Liverpool is in its best form, while Man united is still in the trial and adaptation phase of tactics with Amorim, Liverpool should be able to dominate and win in this match. So far, the H2H of the two are likely:

Source: Liverpool vs Manchester United

indeed it certainly seems like Arne slot will not take it lightly because of course no matter what Man United is a team that cannot be underestimated, yes, even though Man United is currently not performing well in their performance, of course a professional coach like Arne slot will certainly not take it lightly because usually underestimating the opposing team will certainly have a bad effect on a team's performance. if you look at H2H, Liverpool is certainly superior and of course Liverpool should be able to win easily in the upcoming match because Liverpool has good experience when facing Man United. in 2025 this just see what happens with Man United's performance, we'll just watch it together. but I hope that in that match there will be tight competition because of course it will be exciting.

After Man City experienced a decline in popularity this season, this is an opportunity for Liverpool to become champions, so they must not underestimate every enemy they will face including Man Utd in order to continue to increase their chances. No matter how bad Man Utd performance is, this is still the North-West Derby so even though the possibility of losing is high, the Red Devils will definitely put up a fight or at least be able to hold The Reds to a draw. Let's enjoy this match and hope Man Utd doesn't lose by a big score.

[Farma]

of course, Arne Slot does not want to waste opportunities in all matches and he is not typically the one who will underestimate opponents. In the next match, man united was not that consistent, but they also cannot be underestimated.

Liverpool is in its best form, while Man united is still in the trial and adaptation phase of tactics with Amorim, Liverpool should be able to dominate and win in this match. So far, the H2H of the two are likely:

Source: Liverpool vs Manchester United

indeed it certainly seems like Arne slot will not take it lightly because of course no matter what Man United is a team that cannot be underestimated, yes, even though Man United is currently not performing well in their performance, of course a professional coach like Arne slot will certainly not take it lightly because usually underestimating the opposing team will certainly have a bad effect on a team's performance. if you look at H2H, Liverpool is certainly superior and of course Liverpool should be able to win easily in the upcoming match because Liverpool has good experience when facing Man United. in 2025 this just see what happens with Man United's performance, we'll just watch it together. but I hope that in that match there will be tight competition because of course it will be exciting.

After Man City experienced a decline in popularity this season, this is an opportunity for Liverpool to become champions, so they must not underestimate every enemy they will face including Man Utd in order to continue to increase their chances. No matter how bad Man Utd performance is, this is still the North-West Derby so even though the possibility of losing is high, the Red Devils will definitely put up a fight or at least be able to hold The Reds to a draw. Let's enjoy this match and hope Man Utd doesn't lose by a big score.

Realistically, seeing the strength of both teams at this time, it is undeniable that Liverpool is far superior in any aspect compared to Man United at this time.
Liverpool is in high confidence now and they also have great motivation to continue to be at the top of the standings so every match is important for them to win.
And on the other hand, Manchester United's performance is currently very low after a series of bad results that they received, of course, made their mentality and confidence decrease drastically so I don't think they can match Liverpool's game.
I don't think this is a difficult match for Liverpool.

[bitcampaign]

Actually every player of Liverpool team is performing great in this season i.e. they are giving their best performance in every match and winning the match against the opponent. We can mention the name of Md Salah as an example of some of the players who have performed best for Liverpool this season. The way Mohamed Salah has performed this season, I think he might be having the best performance of his career this season. Mohamed Salah has played an important role in all the matches Liverpool have won so far. Liverpool are at the top of the points table due to their good performance in every match, their total points at the moment is 45.

For this season there is nothing I need to worry about Liverpool in the Premier League or the Champions League but next season will be a big question. Considering some Liverpool players like Moh Salah and Trent Alexander Arnold are at the forefront and may leave. We need the right replacement to maintain stability. Liverpool players are filled with many senior players and if there is no regeneration then there will be chaos.

It seems that for next season Arne Slot and Liverpool are not too concerned about how they will be next season, but what they have to do is focus on this season where they are in a really good phase whether in the domestic league or the Champions League, how they can remain consistent in maintaining their top standings in two different leagues, because the criteria for opponents in the two leagues have different playing styles, so Liverpool must remain consistent if they do not want to lose their opportunities this season.

Although it is still a rumor, it sounds like a flashlight in some media that Moh Salah and Trent Alexander Arnold are at the forefront and may leave, in fact the senior players who are still surviving at this time are Moh Salah and Virgil Dijk, these two figures are very influential at Liverpool, although some names and those who have just been brought in by Liverpool such as Federico Chiesa have not been able to meet the expectations desired by Arne Slot and in the end this player was wasted by Liverpool.

[$crypto$]

A lot of chaos happening at Man United is scary for coach Ruben Amorin because he cannot make the club better in addition to the news they do not have the funds to buy players in this transfer.

This weekend Man United have to go to Anfield where Liverpool are fierce at home, how do you believe Man United will win? I think there will be many people skeptical about it.

It's definitely a bookie trap but if you're up for a bit of a challenge maybe try betting on Man United to win. But remember that's a reckless choice with a fairly small percentage. Back to the match the condition of both teams is like 2 different camps both in terms of quality and quantity as an English league team. Man United fans are worried that the tragedy of the past will happen again and the joy is that Mo Salah is on fire, he can score a hat trick if Man United game still doesn't change.

It could be a bookies' trap, but I don't want to be rash by taking Man United's odds because my gut feeling is that they won't win.
To see in terms of quality and quantity statistics from this club, it is clear that for now it is far different, so the bookies dare to give Man United high odds.
Man United fans may not want the tragedy of being broken down by many goals to happen again but seeing the situation of the team collapsing I think Liverpool will easily break down the Man United defense again.

[HajiBagi]

of course, Arne Slot does not want to waste opportunities in all matches and he is not typically the one who will underestimate opponents. In the next match, man united was not that consistent, but they also cannot be underestimated.

Liverpool is in its best form, while Man united is still in the trial and adaptation phase of tactics with Amorim, Liverpool should be able to dominate and win in this match. So far, the H2H of the two are likely:

Source: Liverpool vs Manchester United

Looking at H2H I have concluded that there are only 2 possibilities for the outcome of the match between Liverpool winning by a narrow margin or ending in a draw. And I am also sure that Man United will never be able to provide a surprise by defeating Liverpool.
On the one hand, even though Man United is in unstable performance, the experience of previous meetings can be one of MU's strengths to maintain a draw. Because the key players that MU has must also know Liverpool's weaknesses.
Well, my prediction is that the match will probably end 2-1 or 1-1.

Liverpool is the favorite to win the match because we all know that Manchester United is not in good shape and Liverpool is the best team in the world currently, if Liverpool is not the best team it will be one of the best teams in the world right now, Manchester United last games show that the team is not in good shape to compete in Premier League, Manchester United is currently in 14th position in the League table and this makes some fans are unhappy with the team.

Sometimes Liverpool finds it difficult to defeat Manchester United easily because Manchester United knows how to play against Big teams in the Premier League, teams like Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal Manchester United know how to play against them even when they are not in good shape, Manchester United team need more players in other to save the team because Manchester United is in a position where they will lose many things.

[ShowOff]

Newcastle are in good shape, and on the other hand Tottenham are in a less favorable state after they got negative results in the last few matches. But still this is not something that is easy to predict, because after all Tottenham is also a good club actually, but their declining performance makes it difficult for them to compete as usual. Their advantage will be the host in this match, maybe that's what I see from their advantage, at least until this meeting occurs. Newcastle must be careful if they want to continue their positive results. But I also do not rule out the possibility that this result will end in a draw.

Tottenham Hotspur, who are currently slightly behind several teams in the Premier League and have been outside the top ten, must certainly try harder in their home game when they face Newcastle tomorrow. Meanwhile, Newcastle will also try to win because Newcastle is currently very close to the top four zone so their match that will take place tomorrow can certainly be more fierce and it is indeed difficult to predict who will win the match. But if Newcastle loses tomorrow, of course it will be very detrimental to Newcastle because their position could change back to a worse position than it is now.

Newcastle has a slightly higher chance of winning even though Tottenham is the host. Based on previous match statistics, Newcastle deserves to be the favorite, and they should be able to take advantage of Tottenham declining performance to secure full points in the opening match of week 20 tomorrow. The storm of injuries that hit Ange Postecoglou squad has prevented them from reaching the European zone, where Tottenham should be.

Losing points will have a direct impact on their respective rankings in the standings, so I think this match will be played with high intensity. Newcastle chances of breaking into the top four are getting higher, especially if Chelsea loses points again. While Tottenham still seems to be struggling to recover, their ambition to immediately break into the top ten may be hampered by Newcastle.