Jose Enrique believes Newcastle United have a massive advantage over their Premier League rivals in the race for European football. The former Magpies left-back believes the fact Eddie Howe's side are not in a European competition, will give them an advantage over their rivals.
The Toon are currently third in the Premier League after an impressive start to the campaign, but are competing with sides who have better squads than themselves. For all the investment into the squad, there's a clear belief Newcastle are operating ahead of schedule.
When asked about the uncertainty around how Premier League clubs will respond to the break, Enrique told BBC's Football Daily: "Exactly and that's why the Premier League is the best league in the world. You can see Newcastle, they're going to improve their squad and they're going to have a good season.
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"They want to finish in the top four but they've not finished there yet, there's still a while to go until that. But, how good they're playing, Brighton - how good they're playing, it's really tough to see the top five and six. Who's going to be relegated?
"That's the beauty. Like you just mentioned, we don't know what we're going to see from the teams [when the Premier League resumes]. Newcastle left so good, are they going to come back the same?
"They played the Carabao Cup game and won. They played really well. Brighton, how are they going to come back, Tottenham as well? There's a lot to see and we'll see which team is affected more from this break in a positive way and a negative way as well."
When asked if he was confident Newcastle could continue their bright start, the former Magpies left-back said: "100 per cent, they have something in their favour as well, they don't play in a European competition. That's massive.
"You have the players, they have a lot more rest than the big teams and I believe if they strengthen a little bit as well, not spending crazy like they have been doing. Just finding the right player to improve the squad in case they get some injuries.
"I really believe they can do it. I really believe they can finish in the top-four because they've been playing fantastic football."
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