Paul Merson has good and bad news for Newcastle ahead of season finale

Paul Merson is backing Newcastle United to seal a 2-1 win over Brentford on Sunday, but thinks Chelsea will end our hopes of finishing sixth with a comfortable victory over Bournemouth.

He predicts Brighton will do us a huge favour and beat Man Utd 2-1, meaning they couldn’t finish above us regardless of our result at Brentford. However, the Sky Sports pundit believes Chelsea will make it five wins in a row with a 3-1 victory over Bournemouth and beat us to sixth.

This would mean missing out on Europa League football but ending the season in seventh, above Man Utd and in a position to play in the Europa Conference League next season providing Man City beat Man Utd in the FA Cup final.

Speaking to Sportskeeda, he said: “Newcastle need to win this as if Chelsea lose, they have a chance of making it into next season’s Europa League due to their superior goal difference. They’ve had a decent season and were bang unlucky in the UEFA Champions League. You could also argue that they were a bit naive against Paris Saint-Germain, but it’s all part of the learning curve.

“They need to look to keep their players as teams are going to be sniffing around for Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes. They are a massive team, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of their stars moved on to win trophies. If Arsenal sign a striker like Isak, I think they go to another level.

“Prediction: Brentford 1-2 Newcastle”

Let’s hope he’s right on Newcastle and wrong on Chelsea!

Source link : https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2024/05/18/paul-merson-has-good-and-bad-news-for-newcastle-ahead-of-season-finale/

Author : Olly Hawkins

Publish date : 2024-05-18 10:42:44

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