Antonio Conte admits to Newcastle United that Tottenham’s chances of finishing in the top four are “incredible.”

Newcastle United will move eight points clear of Tottenham in the Champions League with a win against Crystal Palace

Antonio Conte has claimed that Newcastle United is “growing in an incredible way” as he discussed the difficulty Tottenham face to qualify for the Champions League this season.

Spurs suffered from a second-half implosion during their 4-2 defeat to Manchester City on Thursday night. Heading into the break 2-0 up, Pep Guardiola’s side was level just eight minutes after the restart thanks to goals from Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland.

A Riyad Mahrez brace went on to seal all three points as Conte’s side threw away the chance to put the pressure back on Newcastle ahead of their trip to Selhurst Park. A win against Crystal Palace would now see Eddie Howe’s side move eight points clear of the north London club in fourth place.

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Speaking to the press after the defeat to Man City, the Italian manager admitted that his side faces an uphill battle to qualify for Europe’s premier competition this season.

“To stay in the top four, it means that one team like [Manchester] City, [Manchester] United, Liverpool, Chelsea or Arsenal have to stay out,” Conte said. “And I don’t want to consider other teams, other clubs that are growing in an incredible way, like Newcastle.

“I say this because last season we made a fantastic achievement [finishing in the top four], it was also good for us not to be in other competitions, focusing only on the league and not having injuries.

“This season we started to face four competitions and the Champions League takes a lot of energy – the competition [in the Premier League] this season is different. We tried to improve the squad this summer but . . . we need time and we need patience.”