Travel sickness costing Newcastle Champions League qualification
Newcastle United’s away form has been a concern this season, with only three victories on the road, and it looks unlikely they’ll qualify for the Champions League.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer Mosaddek Abu takes a look at the Magpies' struggles away from home.
No end in sight for Magpies' travel sickness
Newcastle's ambition this season is to qualify for the Champions League again, but it has been very stop-start, as they have struggled to pick up points away from home.
Across 12 away league matches this season, Newcastle have won only two, drawn four, and lost six, averaging 0.8 points per match.
In most away performances, there’s been no creativity, toothless showings in attack, and defensively poor, with only two clean sheets in 17 league games.
Despite positive showings against Liverpool at Anfield and in the Carabao Cup against Manchester City, there haven’t been any signs of progress, and it's costing the Magpies.
They sit 11th in the Premier League table, seven points adrift of the top five, with the same number of defeats as victories.
They are now out of the Carabao Cup, with only the Champions League and FA Cup left, but even then, their chances of going far in either tournament are slim.
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A top-five finish for Newcastle looks unlikely
They will likely get past Qarabag, but then they’ll face either Chelsea or Barcelona in the round of 16, teams Newcastle has struggled to beat.
If they fail to qualify for the Champions League, there’s a risk of more big departures this summer, with the likes of Sandro Tonali, Tino Livramento, Lewis Hall and Bruno Guimiares constantly being linked with moves away from the club.
Not to mention the financial benefits of progressing through each stage of the competition.
The support of 52,264 at St James Park has helped Newcastle maintain a strong home record with only five defeats in all competitions.
But away from home, a solution needs to be found, even though there have been some bright spots, such as Anthony Elanga scoring his first goal for the club against City.
It’s simply not enough, and the players need to show more, because being good one week and poor the next isn’t a team with any ambition to play Champions League Football.
Current signs point to a team that seems sure to finish mid-table.
The second half against City showed what they were capable of, because at their best, this Newcastle side can be a threat.
More consistency is required in the performances, because the first half against City was the worst start Newcastle had made since the Tyne-Wear Derby.
It’s the first big dilemma for Howe in his tenure at Newcastle, and it currently has no end in sight, with Newcastle more than likely preparing for a season without any European football and a summer of departures.
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