Newcastle United boosted their hopes of playing Champions League football next season by edging a seven-goal thriller at St James' Park against Nottingham Forest.

Newcastle found themselves 1-0 down after just six minutes when Morgan Gibbs-White capitalised on a defensive mistake by Jacob Murphy and finished past Nick Pope from outside of the box.

Eddie Howe’s side were, however, level before half time when Lewis Miley finished well past Matz Sels in his first league start of the season. The Magpies took the lead just two minutes later through Murphy.

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It got better before half time, when a VAR review awarded Newcastle a penalty for handball. Alexander Isak beat Sels with a cheeky chip finish. The striker was on the scoresheet again just a minute later when he made it 4-1.

Forest did reduce the deficit in the second half through Nikola Milenkovic's flick from a corner. They made it 4-3 from another set-piece as Ryan Yates scored in the final minute of normal time to make it a nervy finish, but Newcastle were able to hang on.

The race for Champions League football looks set to be a close one come the end of the season, with several teams fighting it out for what is expected to be the top five positions in the league. With that in mind, here is a look at what the next few weeks look like for Newcastle and their rivals for those places.

Newcastle United

February 26 vs Liverpool (A) at 8.15pm - Premier League

March 2 vs Brighton (H) at 1.45pm - FA Cup R5

March 10 vs West Ham (A) at 8pm - Premier League

March 16 vs Liverpool (N) at 4.30pm - Carabao Cup Final

April 2 vs Brentford (H) at 7.45pm - Premier League

Nottingham Forest

February 26 vs Arsenal (H) at 7.30pm - Premier League

March 3 vs Ipswich Town (H) at 7.30pm - FA Cup R5

March 8 vs Manchester City (H) at 12.30pm - Premier League

March 15 vs Ipswich Town (A) at 3pm - Premier League

April 1 vs Manchester United (H) at 7.45pm - Premier League

Man City

February 26 vs Tottenham (A) at 7.30pm - Premier League

March 1 vs Plymouth Argyle (H) at 5.45pm - FA Cup R5

March 8 vs Nott’m Forest (A) at 12.30pm - Premier League

March 15 vs Brighton (H) at 3pm - Premier League

April 2 vs Leicester City (H) at 7.45pm - Premier League

Bournemouth

February 25 vs Brighton (A) at 7.30pm - Premier League

March 1 vs Wolves (H) at 3pm - FA Cup R5

March 9 vs Tottenham (A) at 2pm - Premier League

March 15 vs Brentford (H) at 5.30pm - Premier League

April 1 vs Ipswich Town (H) at 7.45pm - Premier League

Chelsea

February 25 vs Southampton (H) at 8.15pm - Premier League

March 6 vs FC Copenhagen (A) at 5.45pm - Conference League

March 9 vs Leicester City (H) at 2pm - Premier League

March 13 vs FC Copenhagen (H) at 8pm - Conference League

March 16 vs Arsenal (A) at 1.30pm - Premier League

Aston Villa

February 25 vs Crystal Palace (A) at 7.30pm - Premier League

February 28 vs Cardiff City (H) at 8pm - FA Cup R5

March 4 vs Club Brugge (A) at 5.45pm - Champions League L16

March 8 vs Brentford (A) at 5.30pm - Premier League

March 12 vs Club Brugge (H) at 8pm - Champions League L16