JORDAN HENDERSON admits Newcastle United remain strong favourites to claim a Champions League place despite Liverpool having closed the gap to the top four with their midweek win.

Mo Salah’s penalty enabled Liverpool to claim a 1-0 win over Fulham last night, with the victory meaning Jurgen Klopp’s side have now strung together five league wins in a row.

Their latest success has lifted them to within six points of Newcastle, although they only have four more games to play this season while the Magpies still have five matches to negotiate.

Liverpool’s run-in looks reasonably inviting, with matches against Brentford, Leicester City and Aston Villa preceding a final-day trip to basement boys Southampton, but while Newcastle face a tricky test against second-placed Arsenal this weekend, Henderson still believes a Champions League place is the Magpies’ to lose.

“Can we finish in the top four? I doubt it,” said the Liverpool midfielder, who began his career with Newcastle’s North-East rivals, Sunderland. “I think if you look at who is ahead of us, they are very good and quite far ahead.

“I think we’re just thinking about us and our performance levels. Hopefully, we can be a lot more consistent when we come back after the summer.”

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Like Henderson, Klopp was not in the mood to throw down the gauntlet to Newcastle in the wake of side’s latest success at Anfield.

The Liverpool boss was not especially happy with his side’s display as they ground out a 1-0 win, and does not appear to believe that it has set up a viable push for a top-four finish.

When asked about the likelihood of Liverpool finishing in a Champions League place, Klopp said: “I cannot believe these questions. I’m embarrassed to answer them all of the time.

“I have no clue – you have to ask Manchester United and Newcastle what they think about it. The only chance we have is to win football matches, then we will see.”

No one seems to want to actively target a Champions League place, with Eddie Howe also having spent the last couple of months deflecting questions about a possible top-four finish.

With Newcastle’s goal difference significantly better than Liverpool’s, Newcastle need to claim seven points from their final five matches to finish above the Reds. Brighton, with their games in hand, remain part of the Champions League picture, although whatever anyone else does, the Magpies will be guaranteed a top-four finish if they win three of their remaining five games.

Nevertheless, Howe does not want to get ahead of himself, with Sunday’s showdown with Arsenal representing a massive challenge given that the Gunners surely need to claim all three points at St James’ Park to keep their slim hopes of overhauling Manchester City to claim the Premier League title alive.

“I think from my perspective and on behalf of all the players, we just want to try to win every game,” said Howe, when he was asked about potential Champions League qualification in the wake of last weekend’s win over Southampton.

“We’ve got a very tough one to come next here, which will be a great occasion for us, and that’s the only focus that I’ll have on it.

“I haven't really taken myself there (to contemplate qualifying for Europe). It might sound a bit strange, but I haven’t. I've just focused on the next game and the next challenge and the next training session.

“There will be a time when we have to plan because of recruitment and all the other things that come into play, but it's not the time now because there's no guarantee of anything.”