Market Data 
This is a game the could be played in the Wild West. A shoot-out at high noon. The prize? One giant leap towards Champions League qualification. Both Newcastle United and Chelsea know what they have to do at St James’ Park on Sunday.
Whatever the result, both clubs will remain in the race. Six teams from the Premier League will qualify for the Champions League next season, five through league position and either Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, who will contest the Europa League final. Many believe Newcastle and Chelsea will secure places regardless, but there is a huge opportunity to get within touching distance of confirmation with a win, while defeat would make for a nervy end to the season, with both Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa ready to pounce on any mistakes.
At home, Newcastle is often confident of getting the job done. Its phenomenal form since winning the Carabao Cup in mid-March, which has transformed the entire outlook of the season, has been built from St James’ Park and winning all the matches in very different ways. It has been patient at times, rampant at others. Chelsea, though, provides the sternest test at the most difficult time.
Enzo Maresca’s side has found form at the right time. For weeks, it had been floundering, and looked to be out of the race. Wins over Fulham, Everton and most pertinently Liverpool have made the Blues a major threat for Newcastle this weekend. Beating the newly-crowned champions may have been a result of a weakened side picked by Arne Slot at Stamford Bridge, but the manner of the performance was more noteworthy. Firstly, top scorer Cole Palmer, who unsurprisingly was struggling for form alongside the team, looked like his old self; Maresca prefers to dominate possession but Chelsea beat Liverpool in transition with just 35%, and defensive midfielder Romeo Lavia’s return from injury has been timely to say the least.
Yet Maresca wants the ball, and wants his team on the front foot, despite evidence that it makes it less effective. Perhaps that can help Newcastle gain an upper-hand, but the truth is, the home side already holds its key to three vital points, St James’ Park itself.
‘We have to be ready’ – Howe
There has always been a sense that when Newcastle needs its fans, they answer the call. So many of the best games under Eddie Howe have come against a backdrop of a mix of raw passion and hostility. Away sides needing to ‘take the crowd out of the game’ borders on cliche; few stadiums can sway a result like this one, when there is something riding on it.
Howe gave the fans a rallying cry when facing the media on Friday.
“I think our home form has been good throughout the season,” he said. “We have a great environment to play in and I’m sure it will be a great atmosphere on Sunday.
“We need the crowd with us. It is imperative in these last two (home) games that they are there and we know they will be there for us, and we have to perform. We have to be ready. Sometimes, with the early kick-offs, it can surprise you.
“You can wake up and it’s very unusual for the players so they have to adapt and the crowd have to adapt to be ready for the kick-off and be in full voice.”
“Every game we have between now and the end of the season becomes our biggest game of the season. We know the importance of where we finish in the Premier League.
“We’re doing everything we can to finish as high as we can and there’s a possibility it can go to the last game. All we can do is take care of our next opponent and try to give everything we can to win.”
Howe’s team feeds off energy and momentum; once the fans set the tone from the stands with roars of encouragement, it can be like a wave ripping through you. Chelsea need only ask Paris Saint-Germain, a European giant which just made it to this season’s Champions League final. Having arrived for the second group match of last season’s competition, Tyneside’s first such occasion for 20 years, it had no answer for the hostility faced. The city felt different that day, like it had a duty to provide for the spectacle; the noise levels only increased from kick off, as Newcastle ran itself into a 4-1 win.
At a similar point to the season in 2022-23, when Newcastle was in the process of securing its place at Europe’s top table, it welcomed Tottenham. It was a rival looking to take the spot as Chelsea is now, but the ferocity from the stands transferred onto the pitch and left the visitors dumfounded, and 5-0 down inside a blistering 21 minutes, eventually going on to lose 6-1.
These are the best two examples of how St James’ Park influences Newcastle’s best days. Without such a furious throng supporting from the sidelines, so many memories would be different. Noon (BST) on Sunday is far from the ideal breeding ground for such raucous intent, but if the city wants to help the team, it must simply bring the noise.
