‘I think ‘ - Extraordinary Newcastle claim made compared to Liverpool, Man Utd & Co after tough start

Newcastle currently sit 14th in the Premier League following three consecutive defeats following a 5-1 opening day win against Aston Villa. Following the opening day victory that left The Magpies top of the table at the time, Pearce backed Eddie Howe’s side to win the Premier League this season.

“To be honest with you, I think they’re going to win the league this year,” Pearce told talkSPORT last month. “I’m going to stick my neck out, I think Newcastle with the recruitment they’ve done and how they’ve sort of just gone in and how things are at Newcastle, I’ve been up there a couple of times next year and the place is absolutely rocking.

“If they keep everyone fit and have a good run of it, I think this game on Saturday evening could be a good indicator whether they have got credentials for it.”

Pearce played 52 times for Newcastle between 1997 and 1999 and took part in the club’s first ever Champions League campaign.

Despite United losing three of their opening four matches this season, the former England international is sticking to his initial prediction.

“I did [back Newcastle to win the Premier League] and I’m sticking with it,” Pearce said following Newcastle’s 3-1 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion.

“I’m seeing [Kevin] De Bruyne dropping out of [Manchester City], I think some of the other teams have got too much to do. That was my prediction three weeks ago. Of course, I’m sticking by it.

“I’ll throw this in the mix here, I think they’ve had the toughest start on paper than any team in the league. Liverpool, Man City, Brighton away, Aston Villa at home, they’re all teams who will be there or there abouts.”

No team has ever won the Premier League after losing more than one of their opening four Premier League matches, let alone three out of four. So Newcastle certainly have their work cut out if Pearce’s highly unlikely prediction were to come true by the end of the season.