Newcastle United's return to the Champions League took plenty of people by surprise this season. Eddie Howe and his coaching staff have masterminded one of the best transformations in recent Premier League history, taking the Toon from the relegation zone to Europe's elite competition in just two seasons.
Very few would have predicted such an impressive campaign from the Magpies and you need just take one look at the BBC's pre-season predictions to see that. Out of the 23 pundits who had a go at picking who would finish in the Champions League places, not one picked Newcastle to finish in the top-four.
13 pundits were right in selecting Manchester City to finish top of the pile, while the other ten chose Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool to finish as champions. Eight pundits backed title challengers Arsenal to finish in the top-four, but nobody predicted a higher than fourth placed finish for the Gunners.
