Newcastle predictions: Top four out of reach again

- No European football for Magpies
- Eddie Howe says he is staying amid England links
- Recommended bet: Best finishing position - Villa to beat Newcastle

Newcastle's return to the Champions League after a 20-year absence was a highlight of 2023/24 for the Magpies.

But there will be no European football this year after injuries and form dips saw them trail home in seventh, and there are worries a top-four return could be beyond them again.

Last season

Six defeats in seven in the Premier League coincided with their exit from the Champions League, though they had acquitted themselves well in a brute of a group alongside finalists Dortmund, PSG and AC Milan.

The second half of the season, with a lighter workload, was much better, featuring big wins over top-six rivals Aston Villa and Tottenham.

Aleksander Isak scored 14 goals after Christmas as the Toon pipped Manchester United for seventh but missed out on Europe.

The manager

Steady Eddie Howe is the highest-placing Englishman in each of the last two Premier Leagues, hence there have been plenty of rumours linking him to the vacant England job.

The former Bournemouth chief is a very likeable, unassuming grafter who has plenty of credit in the bank for getting United into Europe, while his positive, possession-based style of play often wins him plaudits.

Transfers

Fans are concerned that transfer activity has been light on Tyneside so far this summer, though Financial Fair Play restrictions have focused minds amongst the owners.

Money has been spent on an understudy keeper — Odysseas Vlachodimos from Nottingham Forest — and signing left-back Lewis Hall on a permanent deal, after he finished last season on loan at St James's Park from Chelsea.

In a bid to balance the books, young Gambian striker Yankuba Minteh and midfielder Elliott Anderson have gone to Brighton and Forest respectively.

United fans are now hopeful Isak, Liverpool-linked Anthony Gordon and one or two others will stay.

Strengths and weaknesses

Howe's set-up is a positive one so Newcastle are at their best when they are getting class acts like Gordon and Harvey Barnes on the ball in wide areas.

Isak's confidence has gone through the roof with his scoring spree at the back end of last term, while Bruno Guimaraes can turn heads and matches in a heartbeat when he is in the mood.

Howe wants his full-backs to get forward and the upshot is they score plenty of goals — 85 last season, for example — with only the top three sides scoring more.

On the flip side, they can be a liability defensively, conceding far too many soft goals through individual errors or just leaving gaps, though injuries to key defenders like Sven Botman also affected them.

Best outright bet

Newcastle finished fourth in 2022/23, seventh a year later — and it is the latter which paints a truer picture of the Saudi-backed Tyneside giants.

Financial constraints have clearly limited their ability in the transfer market and despite a massive squad there are areas of concern.

They could well be inconsistent once again and in the battle for the top six look slightly weaker compared to the likes of Spurs and Aston Villa.

In a Best Finishing Position market, take the 5/4 with LiveScore Bet that they finish behind Aston Villa for a second year in a row.