With 10 Premier League games remaining, Newcastle sit two points off the top four with a game in hand as Eddie Howe’s side look to secure Champions League football for next season.
Newcastle entered the international break on the back of winning their first major domestic trophy in 70 years, with the Magpies beating Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley to deservedly lift the Carabao Cup trophy. The silverware is already more than enough to claim this season as a successful one, but there’s still more to play for, with Howe’s side not far off the Champions League places in the Premier League.
The Magpies have 10 games left this season, including a game in hand on everyone else challenging for the European spots. Tough games await Newcastle including Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, so how could Howe’s side perform between now and the season? This is what happened…
Newcastle’s Premier League run-in simulated
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2024 editor to update the game with the latest results, fixtures and standings. We then simulated until the end of the season to see how FM24 judges Newcasle’s hopes of earning a place in the Champions League next season.
Game one: Newcastle 1-1 Brentford (02/04/25)
After going behind four minutes in thanks to a Sepp van der Berg header, Alexander Isak scored in the 67th minute to secure a point against one of the most in-form teams away from home in the Premier League.
Game two: Leicester City 0-3 Newcastle (07/04/25)
After dropping points, Newcastle bounced back in fashion, beating Leicester City 3-0 on the road. First-half strikes from Jacob Murphy and Joe Willock sent Howe’s side into an early lead, and an 89th-minute strike from Callum Wilson confirmed the three points.
Game three: Newcastle 2-1 Manchester United (13/04/25)
Manchester United is always a big game, but Newcastle blew them out of the water in a 2-1 win at St. James’ Park. A dominant first-half display saw Isak and Anthony Gordon get on the scoresheet, and despite a late strike from Bruno Fernandes, Howe’s side held on for the win.
Game four: Newcastle 0-0 Crystal Palace (16/04/25)
Despite dominating the game, Newcastle were held to a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace in the simulation, with Howe’s attacking firepower unable to unlock the Eagles’ blunt defence.
Game five:Aston Villa 2-0 Newcastle United (19/04/25)
Just three days after dropping points against Palace, Newcastle fell to defeat against Aston Villa, with goals from Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey handing the Magpies a 2-0 loss on the road.
Game six: Newcastle 5-1 Ipswich Town (26/05/25)
With a week’s rest, Newcastle bounced back from defeat in style, beating Ipswich Town 5-1. Isak stole the show with the striker bagging four goals, while Murphy also got on the scoresheet in an impressive win.
Game seven: Brighton 2-3 Newcastle United (03/05/25)
Isak continued to impress in the following game, with the Swede scoring two late goals as Newcastle came from behind to beat Brighton and Hove Albion 3-2 on the south coast.
Game eight: Newcastle 1-1 Chelsea (11/05/25)
The clash with Chelsea was a big one with the Blues also fighting for the Champions League spots, but the points were shared as Wilson scored off the bench to rescue a late point against the Blues.
Game nine: Arsenal 2-1 Newcastle United (18/05/25)
Newcastle have beaten Arsenal three times already this season, but they couldn’t make it a fourth in the penultimate Premier League game of the season. The Gunners flew into a 2-0 lead, and despite Gordon scoring just after half-time, Howe’s side were unable to leave the capital with a point.
Game 10: Newcastle 1-0 Everton (25/05/25)
Newcastle welcomed Everton to St James’ Park on the final day of the season, with Isak scoring in the opening stages of the game as Howe’s side held out for an important 1-0 win.
The simulation predicted that in the final 10 games of the season, Newcastle would win five, draw three and lose two, ending the season on 65 points to finish fifth in the Premier League. The Magpies were one point off Nottingham Forest in fourth and two points off Manchester City in third, while they finished one point ahead of Chelsea in sixth.
The Premier League is currently on track to have five Champions League spots for next season, so a fifth-placed finish would secure Champions League football for the following campaign. As expected, Ipswich Town, Leicester City, and Southampton were relegated, with the latter ending the season with just 11 points.
Isak scored nine times in the final 10 games to end the Premier League campaign with 28 goals to his name, with the striker finishing second in the Golden Boot race, only behind Mohamed Salah on 32.
