Newcastle United's start to the Premier League campaign was nothing short of remarkable with Eddie Howe's side losing just one of their opening 15 matches and winning seven of their final eight before the World Cup-enforced break.
The Magpies are currently sat in third place ahead of returning to Premier League action on Boxing Day at Leicester City with a Carabao Cup round of 16 clash at home to Bournemouth on December 21 their first competitive match back.
With a 5-0 victory against Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia and a second friendly against Spanish side Rayo Vallecano scheduled for this Saturday (December 17), United have kept themselves in good knick. But what lies ahead for Howe and company as they look to secure Champions League qualification for the first time since 2003?
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According to prediction website FiveThirtyEight, Newcastle currently have a 42% chance of finishing in the top four with the Magpies predicted to narrowly miss out by finishing fifth and therefore settling for Europa League football.
FiveThirtyEight have Howe's men to miss out on the top four by an agonising point, with their tally of 67 inferior to Manchester United's 68 with Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool making up the other top four places.
Newcastle are also expected to accumulate a goal difference of +26 with it currently stood at +18 whilst also finishing one point ahead of Tottenham in sixth and six ahead of Chelsea in seventh.
Looking at the short term though, the north-east outfit are unsurprisingly clear favourites for their trip to Leicester City on Boxing Day with the chance of an away victory currently stood at 47% whilst a home win is at 28% and a draw 25%.
The Foxes are currently 13th after going into the break strongly following a woeful start to the season which saw them pick up just one point from their opening seven league matches but Brendan Rodgers managed to turn things around with his side winning five of their last eight in the league.
Newcastle's record at the King Power Stadium is certainly mixed with the Magpies winning two of their last four trips to the blue part of the East Midlands. However, the other two matches were heavy defeats, 5-0 and 4-0 respectively.
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