Emmanuel Petit insists Newcastle will be a threat to Chelsea's UEFA Champions League hopes, with the former Blues midfielder expecting the Magpies to strengthen in January.
Newcastle signed off before the World Cup break with a 1-0 win over Chelsea at St James' Park to extend their winning streak to five straight matches. The Magpies sit third in the Premier League and boast a nine-point lead over Chelsea, albeit having played a game more than Graham Potter's side.
Petit believes Newcastle will remain fresh due to them not competing in Europe and expects the race for the top four to be as tight as ever this season.
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"The competition for the top four will be so tight," Petit told Mega Casino. "Now you have Newcastle, who are not playing in Europe, they don’t have that many players who were affected by playing at the World Cup.
"They will be active in the transfer window. They will add more quality. There are probably seven or eight clubs fighting for the Champions League.
"Chelsea need to be very careful. They need to be very careful how they manage the next two transfer windows as well."
Chelsea suffered three straight defeats before the World Cup and sit eight points outside of the top four in eighth place. The Blues have also struggled for goals this term - scoring just 17 times in their 15 league matches so far.
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