Eddie Howe fires Liverpool & Manchester United warning as Newcastle United held at Leeds

Newcastle United will be prepared IF the race for Champions League qualification race goes down to the wire.

Eddie Howe’s side were held to a 2-2 draw at relegation-threatened Leeds United. Two Callum Wilson penalties saw the Magpies recover Luke Ayling’s opener before Rasmus Kristensen’s deflected shot earned the hosts a point.

United are four points ahead of fifth-place Liverpool, who travel to Leicester City on Monday night. Brighton and Hove Albion visit St James’ Park on Thursday, which is Newcastle’s game in-hand.

A win against Brighton and Leicester on the following Sunday will guarantee a top-four finish - if Liverpool continue winning. United have only twice on home turf this season against Liverpool and Arsenal.

Howe said: “Every time we play at home is an opportunity to win because of the conditions, the arena, the support, the confidence. We’ve done really well at home this season. We love to play there.

“We go into those two games with belief we can get the job done but it’s never that easy, and that showed today. Leeds, with a new manager and style of play that is very difficult to play against, and a crowd that were in the game made it a really tough match for us.”

He added: “We have to be very positive. We’re disappointed not to win today. It was a great chance for us with the lead and not long left in the match but we have to accept what happened.

“It’s still in our hands, we have three huge games to come. Sometimes you have to take yourself back to the start of the season and what we would have thought to be in this position now.

“Everyone at the club would have taken that. It’s in our hands and we have to be very positive about what’s ahead.

Asked if he the race for European qualification will go down to the wire, Howe replied: “Possibly. Who knows? It’s difficult to predict anything in football. You saw that today. We’re prepared for that if it does. That will be what we have to do.”