Newcastle's main goal is to get into the top 5 (this guarantees direct entry into the Champions League, as England is number one in the UEFA rankings and will receive an additional ticket) and now they look like favorites in this fight. The game in hand with Crystal Palace, I think it's at least one point, which already allows them to keep Chelsea, Aston Villa and City at a distance. The most positive thing for Newcastle is that, unlike many other teams, they are playing better towards the end of the season rather than experiencing a decline.
I would say that Newcastle are currently the frontrunners in the race to qualify for the Champions League. Each team has played 31 matches. On the other hand, Newcastle are fifth in the table with 53 points from 30 matches. If they win the next match, Newcastle will have 56 points. Newcastle will be fourth in the table. And the team will be only 1 point behind Nottingham Forest.
In the next 8 matches, Newcastle will face strong teams like Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. If Newcastle does not lose in these three matches, then I would say that we will see Newcastle in the top four of the table.
While i was watching Leicester City Versus Newcastle match yesterday, i just concluded that Newcastle can get to the top 4 and qualify for the Champions League next season. The way they played against Leicester and won them with a score of 3:0 is to show that they have the force and strength to make it at the top 4 and since they have a match at hand, it will even make them to have more confidence in qualifying for the Champions League games. If they can also make sure not to lose a match they can even remove Nottingham Forest from the 3rd position though they are also another resilient club in the premiers league.
The only problem Newcastle will have in the upcoming matches will be their match against Arsenal, but for Chelsea and Manchester United, i don't think they can lose to them because currently Newcastle is in a better performance.