Things are going according to plan for Eddie Howe and Newcastle United so far this season.

A purple patch over the Christmas and New Year period - resulting in five straight Premier League wins - has thrust the Magpies into fifth spot. It means they are firmly in the mix for Champions League qualification, once again, even if Nottingham Forest, Chelsea and Manchester City might have something to say about that.

Whisper it quietly, there is also growing hope, if not expectation, that this will FINALLY be the year that Newcastle bring silverware back to the north east. With (half) a foot in the Carabao Cup final, victory over Bromley also guided the Magpies into the FA Cup fourth round - where they will meet Birmingham City.

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At face value, with Birmingham going so well in their bid for League One promotion, this represents a tricky tie and potential "cup-set" for any Premier League side. Newcastle will have to be on their game to get through. Still, the opportunity is there. However, in the midst of preparing for that impending St. Andrew's meeting, there is a nightmare 21-day scenario unfolding for Howe and his in-form squad to negotiate.

Indeed, between February 5 and February 26, they are now inked into play Arsenal, Birmingham, City, this season's surprise package Forest and table-topping Liverpool. Of course, the first of those two matches are in the two cups, but there are also nine precious Premier League points up for grabs in the challenging sequence.

Form, fitness and other factors will be at play and - in many ways - those three weeks might ultimately determine how successful Newcastle are going to be this term. They only have home advantage for one of those meetings in the top-flight, too, meaning Howe's team can't even lean on their famous St. James' Park support.

A challenge, then, no doubt. But it's one that must be relished - and comes with a welcome silver living. That's because Newcastle are by no means alone when it comes to having a nightmare stretch.

Liverpool, for example, have 10 games to play before they welcome Newcastle to Anfield, while the Magpies "only" have eight matches in that time. Arsenal, meanwhile, have two important Champions League showdowns to tackle before their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at St. James' Park. There's also the small matter of a North London derby vs Tottenham and title match-up with City to factor in.

By the same token, Newcastle, while games also come thick and fast for them, have a slightly less challenging run - on paper - to come before their own testing stretch arrives. By then, the overall picture will have taken much more shape and it will be up to Howe's side to prove their credentials in the most complex of situations.