With just a week of the Premier League season remaining, it's time for some honest reflection: the standard at the top is not high, but the level beneath that – from sixth all the way down to 18th – has never been higher anywhere.
West Ham's Unique Position
For proof, we need only look at West Ham. It's arguable that no better side will ever have been relegated, whether they or Tottenham, currently two points ahead, fill the final relegation slot. Matheus Fernandes and Jarrod Bowen are top players; Crysencio Summerville and Taty Castellanos are more than useful; and a goodly number of others are well up to playing top-division football.
West Ham's form is not that of a relegation outfit. In each of the last nine seasons, 36 points has been enough to stay up, but they have that with two games to go, along with two wins and a draw in their last five.
Reasons for Their Predicament
Of course, they're being punished now for dreadful form in the early part of the season, especially under Graham Potter, and also for the tremendous behaviour of Sunderland and Leeds, two promoted clubs. But even so, there is no way whatsoever they should be where they are, needing at least one win in their last two games to preserve their status, with even two potentially insufficient.
Upcoming Fixtures and Pressure
If they could get the big win tonight, they'd put serious pressure on Spurs, who travel to Chelsea on Tuesday and host Everton on the final day. One victory in six, along with seven home defeats, tell us Newcastle are beatable, the physicality which underpins their best play less pronounced this season and the contribution of Alexander Isak not adequately replaced.
So, though trips to St James' are never easy, given the way things have gone for Newcastle this term and the nothing for which they have to play, it's actually one of the better options for a side desperately seeking a result. But Eddie Howe's men won't want the shame of another set of players cavorting on their pitch, just as their support won't want the away contingent leaving with happy vibes, so it's eyes down for an absolutely tussle that might just be the highest-level 13th v 18th we've ever seen; this is absolutely gargantuan.
Kick-off: 5.30pm BST
