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PL Best Case/Worst Case - EP4 | Newcastle, Norwich, Sheffield Utd

Every day on OTB AM ahead of the return of the Premier League on June 17th, we'll be running th...



PL Best Case/Worst Case - EP4...
Soccer

PL Best Case/Worst Case - EP4 | Newcastle, Norwich, Sheffield Utd

Every day on OTB AM ahead of the return of the Premier League on June 17th, we'll be running the rule over teams in groups of three or four in our new segment - Best Case/Worst Case.

It's less than a week to go now until the resumption of top-flight action in England, and we'll have live commentary of plenty of the games on OTB Sports.

Phil Egan joined Eoin and Adrian on OTB AM this morning to run through three teams having contrasting fortunes so far this term.

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NEWCASTLE UNITED

Current position: 13th

First game back: Sheffield United (h) - June 21st

PHIL'S THOUGHTS:

"You could argue, is it the best-case scenario being taken over by a Saudi billionaire? Obviously Newcastle fans wanted change because one thing we've seen under Steve Bruce - it's pretty similar to what we saw under Rafa Benitez in terms of the style of play.

"They have a few decent players but it's not great to watch. They've had a few good results this season where they've beaten Manchester United, they drew with City, they beat Spurs.

"When Steve Bruce came in, a lot of people had him at the top of the list for who is going to be the first manager to be sacked, then they lose their first couple of games.

"He steadied the ship and has them in a better position at this stage of the season, 29 games in, four points better off than they were under Rafa Benitez.

"I don't think [they'll go down], they've got a bit of wriggle room, eight points above the relegation zone."

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NORWICH CITY

Current position: 20th

First game back: Southampton (h) - June 19th

PHIL'S THOUGHTS:

"No [they won't stay up]. Their best-case scenario is aside from the Premier League, it's the FA Cup, they're in the quarter-finals against Manchester United later this month.

"They're six points from safety, they had that great win against Leicester in their second-last game before the league was put on hold.

"When we picked three teams to go down at the start of the season, Norwich were in everyone's three."

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SHEFFIELD UNITED

Current position: 7th

First game back: Aston Villa (a) - June 17th

PHIL'S THOUGHTS:

"They have the second-best defence in the Premier League, only Liverpool have a better defence than them. That's why they're doing so well, they're hard to beat.

"Even games they've lost, you really have to work for it. I think back to when Liverpool beat them at Anfield, when City beat them at the Etihad over the Christmas period... both were made to work really hard for it.

"If Liverpool weren't going to win the league under Jurgen Klopp, Chris Wilder is your manager of the season.

"I think they'll still come up short in terms of Champions League... I think eventually the lack of goals will probably catch up with them.

"They could still get a Europa League spot, which would be unbelievable."

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Our upcoming live Premier League commentary games:

Wednesday June 17th - 8.15pm - Man City v Arsenal

Sunday June 21st - 2pm - Newcastle v Sheffield United

Sunday June 21st - 4.15pm - Aston Villa v Chelsea

Wednesday June 24th - 8.15pm - Liverpool v Crystal Palace

Thursday June 25th - 8.15pm - Man City v Chelsea

Sunday June 28th - 4.30pm - Watford v Southampton

Thursday July 2nd - 8.15pm - Man City v Liverpool

EP1 HERE - Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bournemouth

EP2 HERE - Crystal Palace, Everton, Leicester City

EP3 HERE - Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United

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Newcastle United Norwich City Otb Am Phil Egan Premier League Sheffield United Soccer