The pressure is on but Newcastle United know their top-four fate remains in their own hands. Two wins from their last three fixtures will guarantee a place in next season's Champions League for the Magpies in what will be their first foray into European football for a decade.
Newcastle United and Manchester United both appeared to have all but cemented their place in the top four only a couple of weeks ago. However, a dramatic late rally from Liverpool has put both clubs under threat with the Reds' winning seven straight matches including a comfortable 3-0 victory at Leicester City on Monday night.
Jurgen Klopp's side currently sit a point adrift of both in the table, having played one match more. In his recent analysis of the top-four race, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has no doubt Liverpool will win their remaining two fixtures starting with a home clash with Aston Villa on Saturday night.
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It means both the Magpies and the Red Devils need to collect six points in order to mathematically rule out the prospect of Klopp's team sneaking a top-four spot in the final week of the season. But with the changes to the Champions League set to come into effect from the 2024/25 season, this current season could be one of the last top-four races.
Europe's premier competition will expand to a 36-team tournament as the result of including four new entrants, with the traditional group stage set to be scrapped. Instead, clubs will play eight fixtures to determine their ranking in one league table, with four matches at home and four away.
Teams who finish first to eighth will automatically qualify for the round-of-16, with the knock-out stages from that point onwards remaining the same as the current system. Meanwhile, the sides that finish between ninth and 24th will contest a two-legged play-off, with the eight victors completing the lineup for the last-16.
In terms of the four new entrants, one will qualify via the "Champions Path" qualifying route, which features the leagues ranked outside the top 10 in the UEFA Country Coefficient. An additional place will be awarded to the league ranked fifth in the UEFA Coefficients, a position which France currently holds and would see three Ligue 1 teams automatically qualify, and the fourth-placed side entering at the third qualifying round.
The final two spots will be reserved for the two countries with the highest coefficient score in the current season. If the new format was being introduced next year rather than 2024/25, England and Italy would both be handed a fifth qualifying spot in the Champions League as a result.
According to these new parameters, a Premier League team would also have been the beneficiary in three of the past four campaigns. Given the strength of English sides in recent Champions League campaigns, it means the current battle between Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle United could be one of the last top-four races.
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