Newcastle United's 2025/26 Premier League opponents take shape ahead of dramatic Championship finale

Newcastle United’s sole focus for their remaining four games of the season will be on securing the points required to make a return to the Champions League.

The Magpies ended last weekend in third place in the Premier League table after Alexander Isak, Dan Burn and Will Osula all netted in a 3-0 home win against struggling Ipswich Town. Five clubs remain in contention for the five Champions League places on offer this season and Nottingham Forest will hope to move back into the top five when they host Brentford at the City Ground on Thursday night.

However, Newcastle will also have one eye on next season as they look to build on a historic campaign that brought an end to the club’s 70-year wait for domestic silverware and ensured Eddie Howe’s men will compete in European competition next season, no matter what comes to pass over the next four weekends. But who could Newcastle face in the Premier League next season? We take a look at how the promotion race in the Championship is panning out ahead of the final round of regular season fixtures in the second tier.

Which clubs have been relegated into the Championship?

Newcastle played a part in relegating one club into the second tier after Ipswich Town’s 3-0 defeat at St James Park condemned Kieran McKenna’s men to an immediate return into the Championship. They will be joined by Leicester City and Southampton after their relegations were confirmed earlier this month as all three promoted clubs saw their time back in the top flight limited to a solitary season. For Southampton, their main aim for the final four games of a disastrous season will be to gain at least one point that will see them surpass the Premier League’s lowest ever points tally of a 11, which was set by Derby County in 2007/08. Newcastle supporters won’t need reminding four of the Rams’ 11 points came against the Magpies.

Which clubs have already been promoted into the Premier League?

Two familiar foes will return to the top flight as Newcastle are reunited with Leeds United and Eddie Howe’s former club Burnley. They secured the two automatic promotion places over the last fortnight and will go head-to-head for the Championship title this weekend. Leeds currently occupy top spot ahead of their final day visit to relegation threatened Plymouth Argyle and they’ll be crowned champions if they at least match Burnley’s result in their home game with Millwall. Any slip from the Whites could allow Scott Parker’s Burnley to seize the Championship title on the final day of a long season.

Which clubs could be promoted into the Premier League via the Championship play-offs?

The possibility of a Tyne-Wear derby in next season’s Premier League remains very much alive after Sunderland confirmed their place in the Championship play-off semi-finals earlier this month with a goalless draw at Norwich City. The Black Cats will be joined in the play-offs by Sheffield United after they fell short in a three-way title battle with Leeds and Burnley.

However, the other two play-off spots remain up for grabs and they are currently occupied by Bristol City and Frank Lampard’s Coventry City, who face Preston North End and Middlesbrough in the final round of fixtures this Saturday lunchtime. The latter of those fixtures will be intriguing as Boro could still gatecrash the play-offs if they claim a win against the Sky Blues and results elsewhere go their way. Millwall and Blackburn Rovers are also in contention for the top six as they prepare to face Burnley and Sheffield United respectively this weekend.

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