Joe Buck previews Newcastle United's clash with Chelsea and why their 'biggest Premier League game of the season' could have long lasting consequences.
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00:00So, you don't need me to tell you just how big of a game Newcastle United face on Sunday.
00:06Now, they welcome Chelsea to St James' Park and not necessarily Champions League qualification on the line,
00:11but of course it's a massive game against Enzo Mareska's side.
00:14If Newcastle can win that, they'll go three points above the Blues in the Premier League table
00:18and be nearly there towards Champions League qualification.
00:22There are some set of circumstances this weekend which involve Newcastle winning,
00:26Nutt and Forrest and Aston Villa both losing. They could see them actually qualify for the Champions League
00:31before they even kick a ball again. But that and then, as I said, involves results this weekend
00:36and then on Friday, next Friday, before they kick off against Arsenal on Sunday.
00:40But Newcastle, though, it's in their hands and it's a good thing to have in their hands, of course,
00:44to beat Chelsea or St James' Park back in the Cowbell Cup earlier this season.
00:50Now, they did get beat at Stamford Bridge and we're in a really disappointing afternoon for them.
00:53But yes, Newcastle will want to get that win against Chelsea and the one St James' Park crowd
00:58will be afraid. 12 o'clock on a Sunday is not the best time, but if Newcastle need their 12th man
01:03at any point, it's going to be on Sunday. And obviously, Champions League qualification,
01:08we all know how much that will benefit Newcastle on a European stage, of course.
01:13They want to be in the best competitions and they want to keep all their best players.
01:16They want to be in the best competitions financially. It'll boost the club as well.
01:19But also, when they're heading to the summer market, they want to be able to show these players
01:23that they are a Champions League team and that they're going to make a better fist of it
01:26than they did last time. Now, they don't have to have Champions League football
01:30set by some of their best players. Arguably, their best transfer windows have come
01:34without Champions League football. You know, if you look back to the very first one
01:37under the new owners or the one in that summer after where they signed the likes
01:40of Alexander Rizak. But of course, if you want to attract players, players like Brian
01:45Mbwemo, Christian Norgon, his captain, has said that he's pretty certain Mbwemo will leave
01:50this summer. Now, if you want to attract players like him, you don't necessarily have
01:54a Champions League football, but it's a big help. And we all know Liverpool are interested
01:57in him and there'll be other teams around Europe that'll be interested in Mbwemo. He's
02:00been brilliant for Brentford this year. Newcastle will be among them teams and they'll hope
02:04that they're being able to show players like him that they can have Champions League football
02:08will be enough to, you know, to sign him. Now, Mbwemo, just on him, he has been fantastic
02:13in the games you guys have played against him this year, particularly at the JTEC back
02:16in December. He was brilliant. He scored a goal there and he was just, you know, relentless
02:23at him. He's just a perfect player for Eddie Howe's system, I think, on that right wing.
02:27Jacob Murphy's been really good this year, but to have another option and to be able to
02:31rotate, you know, and someone who's Premier League quality, proven Premier League quality
02:36and hit the ground running, £60 billion is a lot, you know, he'd be then the second highest,
02:40you know, second biggest fanning gas I've ever spent on a player would be for Mbwemo.
02:45If it was £60 million, of course, that record currently stands for Isak at £63 million,
02:49but he will be the perfect player. And yeah, you know, you think about the summer and all
02:53this Champions League qualification, whether they need to sign him, well, that all comes
02:56down to Sunday, really. So it's not, it's hard to really lower the magnitude of this game.
03:00It's not their biggest game of the season, of course, that came at Wembley and then maybe
03:03even the Carabao 7-4 that, but it's certainly their biggest league game of the season.
03:07And if they can get a win, the whole outlook on the season changes. If they get a win on
03:10Sunday, they only need one more win to guarantee it because they're superior goal difference
03:14and they'll, of course, have two chances to do that. Lose on Sunday, that then evaporates
03:19out of their hands. So yeah, it's a huge game. I think Eddie, Eddie Howell will obviously
03:23know that and have that message for his players, but obviously they want to treat it like any
03:26other game. You guys are at the best when they're, you know, going at opposition, doesn't
03:31matter on the opposition, they're going at them in their faces and they want St. James's
03:34Park and his team to do that on Sunday. So he had a huge game on Sunday, one that could
03:38have ramifications down the line, as I said, you know, with potential transfers going forward.