Newcastle United host Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday (15:00 BST) with the two teams in wildly contrasting form as the visitors push hard for a European spot.
Eddie Howe's Magpies are languishing in 14th having lost four league games on the bounce. January 2021, when Steve Bruce was at the helm, was the last time Newcastle lost five top-flight matches in a row.
Geordie chore
Since a goalless draw with bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers on 18 January – when Newcastle were eighth – they have lost nine out of 12 in the Premier League; a tough watch for the Toon Army, who were dreaming of a Champions League quarter-final a little over seven weeks ago.
At St James' Park, they have registered just one win in their past six games – last month's impressive victory over Manchester United, which came despite playing the second half with 10 men.
A delegation of officials from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Newcastle's majority owners, flew to the North East for meetings this week and the club's dire form was said to be high on the agenda.
One worrying trend for Howe to address is his side's inability to hold on to a lead. Twice last month – at Crystal Palace and in the Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland – Newcastle lost the game despite going ahead.
They have dropped a league-high 25 points from winning positions this season. To compound the situation, the Magpies have won just three points from losing positions this term, the joint fewest in the division.
Brighton breezy
A superb run of six wins in eight league games since being knocked out of the FA Cup on Valentine's Day has left Brighton dreaming of some romantic European getaways next season.
The Seagulls are currently sixth, trailing Aston Villa by eight points. Finishing sixth should mean qualification for the Europa League, but there is still an outside chance it could result in Champions League football.
How? It would require Villa to win the Europa League – they trail Nottingham Forest 1-0 after Thursday’s semi-final first leg – and finish fifth in the league, the position they currently occupy.
Whatever happens between now and the end of the season, Danny Welbeck's status as a cult hero in East Sussex is not in doubt. The Englishman will feel very hard done by if he isn't selected for World Cup duty by Thomas Tuchel after the best goalscoring season of his career.
Welbeck, 35, has notched 13 top-flight goals so far, including two in the reverse fixture in October, a game Brighton won 2-1. Only six players in the competition have scored more in a campaign while aged 34 or older.
One more for Welbeck would see him become Brighton's outright top scorer in a Premier League season. He is currently level with Glenn Murray, who bagged 13 in 2018-19.
But the former Manchester United and Arsenal man hasn’t been alone in Fabian Hurzeler’s side’s climb the table. A strong supporting cast has helped the Seagulls score at least twice in each of their past four league games, something they last achieved over February and March 2025.
