Newcastle United are on track to end frustrating five-year trend

Newcastle United are on the verge of leaving a negative trend behind with their good start to the season.

Newcastle United have taken points from five of their opening seven games to start the season, with three of those outcomes being victories. The Magpies are currently 11th in the standings with 11 points through seven games, but a win against Southampton on Friday could see them break into the top four.

That sounds crazy, I know, but this season, in general, has broken the status quo early on. Everton, Southampton, and Wolves currently round out the top six, for example, and the giants from Manchester are 10th and 15th at this stage in the season. With a tally of 11 points, Newcastle United are eight points clear of 18th-placed West Brom, and three more points on Friday would see that gap extend to double figures.

When looking back at the Magpies’ last couple of seasons in the Premier League, five to be exact, Newcastle United are on track to scratching their name from the relegation battle that usually involves six or seven teams until April.

Since the 2014-15 Premier League campaign, Newcastle United have been involved in relegation battles, and they failed to win that battle in the 2015-16 campaign. The Toon did earn a Top 10 finish in 2017, as well as consecutive 13th-place finishes after that, but the hot streak to get them higher up the table in those three seasons did not kick in until the end of each campaign.

Newcastle United still have plenty of work to do this season as the aim is to develop consistency, but they enjoy a comfortable cushion early on. Looking ahead at the Magpies’ next seven games, six of those games are winnable clashes against Southampton (A), Crystal Palace (A), Aston Villa (A), West Brom (H), Leeds United (A), and Fulham (H). Please keep in mind that “winnable” does not mean easy. Far from it.

Some of those battles will be a bit more tricky and competitive, especially against Aston Villa and Leeds United, but this string of games could see Newcastle United potentially go 20 points clear of the drop zone before the halfway point of the season.