Newcastle United’s Champions League hopes: Ex-Liverpool and Manchester United men deliver split verdict

Newcastle currently find themselves in 4th place and know a win against Bournemouth on Saturday night would, temporarily at least, move them above Manchester United and into third position behind Manchester City and Arsenal. Eddie Howe’s side have left last season’s relegation worries as a distant memory and have built their successes on having the best defensive record in the league to-date.

With 21 games played this season, the Magpies hold genuine ambitions of finishing in the top-four and qualifying for European football’s elite competition for the first time in two decades. Their top-four credentials were assessed in the latest Sky Sports Overlap fan debate, with Carragher and Neville disagreeing on whether or not the Magpies can maintain their current form.

Carragher, who has previously backed Newcastle to stay in the top-four, reiterated his belief that it is sustainable, believing the Magpies defensive resilience will be the key reason for them holding off the attentions of Spurs. He said: “I think they can. Newcastle for me, alongside Arsenal, I have been most excited watching them this season. When you watch them, they’re so fast and energetic.

“They’ve only lost one game this season. I know they’ve drawn a lot of games, but to only lose one Premier League game over halfway through the season, no matter who you are, it’s some going that. Premier League games are tough.

“We know Newcastle aren’t the best team in the league but they’re in the top four now and to only lose one game is some going.

“I think the way Eddie Howe has got them set up defensively, they don’t look like a soft touch or a traditional Newcastle team where it’s end-to-end and could be any score. I think Eddie Howe is one of the managers of the season, no doubt.

“It will be tough for them, of course it will, Tottenham will be there or thereabouts.

“But I think Newcastle have got something special going there. When clubs have got that connection with the crowd that goes onto the pitch, not every club can have that and I think Newcastle have got something special going on there at the minute. The fans are always backing them and they feel like a real team.

“The fact that they’re not conceding goals and losing games mean they always have a fighting chance in every game they play.”

Neville, however, disagrees with the former Liverpool man, revealing that the intensity Howe’s team play with could be a detrimental factor to their chances of staying in the top-four. “I think Newcastle are absolutely full pelt, one hundred miles per hour and they can’t run any faster than they are doing right now,” Neville said. “But I think they’re hanging on and I don’t think they’ll be able to do that as the season goes on and I don’t think they’ll finish in the top four.

“I hope they do, it’ll be unbelievable if they did, but I do think Newcastle will fall away.”