Newcastle United will get their fair share of opportunities to qualify for the Champions League thanks to the ambitious new Saudi-backed owners at St James' Park.
But seldom are top four chances like the one dangling in front of Eddie Howe and his squad up for grabs in the Premier League. Even after the heaviest defeat of the season at Villa Park on Saturday, it is still advantage Newcastle going into the final eight matches.
Saturday was a strange day for the Geordie fans in Birmingham after a day which started with optimism in the sun turned sour long before teatime - but then it all went a bit "Spursy". Yes, not for the first time Tottenham crumbled as the weight of expectation was placed on their shoulders and Newcastle's frowns were turned upside down!
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Throwing aside the fact that Chelsea and Liverpool have imploded this season but will surely be back in the mix next term, the battle for fourth now appears to be between the Magpies and tragic Tottenham. United accepted they were second best in the second city against Villa, but then - with Spurs in full knowledge of Newcastle's slip-up - this Tottenham team couldn't even help themselves at home to AFC Bournemouth.
The Cherries even offered Spurs the chance of what would have been a valuable point at 2-2 only for Tottenham to turn their noses up at it and crumble in stoppage time. If Antonio Conte had lost his rag with Spurs supremo Daniel Levy, then his replacement has almost certainly lost the plot in Cristian Stellini.
The lame-duck boss felt that his team gave "everything" and "played good" in the first half against relegation-threatened Bournemouth Stellini then told his players after the game: "The only question they have to ask themselves is not to play two games in one, play only one game... when we scored, again, we dropped too much and we allowed the opponent to score two goals, not one."
Whatever happened at Villa will be forgotten by Newcastle fans on Sunday and Spurs will arrive on Tyneside as a team here for the taking - along with that top four spot. Nothing can be taken for granted of course but Newcastle should be more encouraged by what they saw in the capital as Spurs capitulated.
A bump in the road was always inevitable for Howe's team given they had won five matches on the spin. But perhaps it can be a blessing in disguise.
Victory on Sunday would put a six-point gap between Newcastle and Spurs and Man United play in the FA Cup semi-finals against Brighton & Hove Albion. The Magpies must only hold their nerve and that long-awaited Champions League invite will be theirs.
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