How far away are Newcastle from safety in the top flight?
Relegation talk is back on the agenda at Newcastle United.
Until the Magpies reach that magic mark that ensures Premier League safety, fears will remain on Tyneside, especially with the scars of 2009 and 2016 still raw in the memory.
The 40-point tally is one often mentioned by pundits and so-called experts alike, but is that really the safety barrier that ensures Premier League safety, or is the mark lower?
Here’s a look at the total needed to remain in the top flight over the course of the last 10 years – and the numbers are lower than you might think...
19/20 - 35 points
Last season a total of 35 points would have kept you in the division - United are only 10 points off that now.
Aston Villa managed to scrape fourth bottom, having looked doomed at one stage, with AFC Bournemouth dropping into the Championship on 34 points from their 38 games.
Both sides won nine games in the season, while Bournemouth's superior goal difference, -25 to -26, would likely have kept them up, had it ever come to that.
18/19 - 35
And again, 35 was the magic number two seasons ago as Brighton & Hove Albion edged out Cardiff City, who dropped out of the top flight in the second season after promotion.
The Seagulls finished the campaign with nine wins compared to the Bluebirds' 10, but the all-important points tally told a different story, with Chris Hughton and co getting 36 points, to Cardiff's 35.
Goal difference was also in the south coast side's favour, bettering Cardiff by ten goals, -25 to -35.
17/18 - 34
Slightly lower three seasons back, 34 would have kept Southampton in the top flight. They did, however, amass 36 points from their 38 games that year.
Swansea City, on the other hand, managed just 33 points, although they did better than the Saints in terms of wins - the Swans recorded eight compared to seven for the St Mary's outfit.
Southampton had a goal difference of -19, with Swansea finishing on -28.
16/17 - 35
This campaign turned out to be a no-contest, with Watford staying up by SIX points come the final day.
The Hornets wracked up 40 points with 11 wins and a goal difference of -28, while Hull City, who finished in 18th this campaign, dropped out of the top flight with 34 points, a goal difference of -43 and nine wins.
15/16 - 38
The great escape - well, for Sunderland. And at Newcastle's expense. The least said about that the better.
Sam Allardyce's Black Cats ended the season with 39 points to bitter rivals Newcastle's 37, with both teams winning nine games apiece and with respective goal differences of -14 and -21.
While United bounced back to the top flight at the first attempt - and have remained there ever since their rivals from down the road dropped the following year, and then again to bottom out in League One.
14/15 - 36
Aston Villa narrowly avoided relegation, even if their stay of execution was only another season, by remaining ahead of Hull. Villa amassed 38 points and finished the campaign three points ahead of the Tigers, who ended on 35.
They also won 10 games compared to Hull's eight, although the team who failed to beat the drop did have the better goal difference, -18 to -26.
13/14 - 34
After the relative highs of the previous three seasons, the total needed to remain a top-flight outfit dropped considerably in 2013/14.
Norwich City dropped in
to the Championship with 33 points from their 38 games, winning eight games with a particularly poor goal difference of -34.
On the other hand, West Brom finished 17th with 36 points, a three-point buffer, despite only claiming seven wins in the season. Their goal difference was -16.
12/13 - 37
While the Black Cats beat the drop at the expense of Newcastle in 2016, they did so ahead of Wigan Athletic in 2013, too.
Sunderland finished the season on 39, but only ever needed 37, due to Wigan only
reaching the 36-point mark.
Both teams won a total of nine games each, while Sunderland's -13 goal difference was considerably better than Wigan's at -26.
11/12 - 37
QPR stayed in the Premier League by the skin of their teeth nine years ago as Bolton Wanderers finally dropped out of the top flight in third bottom. Now look where they are!
Wanderers ended the campaign with 36 points - enough to keep them up most years after this - compared to QPR's 37 points.
Both teams won 10 games each, while QPR bettered Bolton's goal difference by eight goals, -23 to -31.
10/11 - 40
The tightest relegation battle in recent memory as Wolverhampton Wanderers edged out bitter Midlands rivals Birmingham City.
Wolves ended the campaign on 40 points, one ahead of Birmingham on 39, with a one better goal difference -20 to -21.
Eleven wins did the trick for Wolves all told, with Birmingham recording just eight that year.
So, what will it take this year?
Graham Potter is beginning to see the fruits of his labour in his bid to establish Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League.
The Seagulls, in their fourth season back in the top flight, showed few signs of progress until January, winning only two of their first 18 league matches.
But they will bid to make it seven unbeaten in Monday's home game against ‘derby’ rivals Crystal Palace and Potter used a gardening analogy to explain their turnaround.
"My dad was a keen gardener and had his allotment," Potter said.
"He would always start off doing a lot of digging, a lot of heavy work, with not too much to show for it and a lot of back ache.
"Eventually, after a long period of time, he would start to see things coming through and he would have some vegetables. But it takes time. It's like anything in life.
"We’ve had to try to change the playing style a little bit, we’ve introduced some younger players from the academy, taken some players that are adapting to life in the Premier League.
"To still get results in the Premier League is a huge challenge."
Defeat at Manchester City in mid-January left Brighton one place and two points above the relegation zone, but they have since won at Leeds UnitedandbeatenTottenham Hotspur and Liverpool.
"Thankfully we’ve managed it quite well, but we have to keep going," Potter said.
"The group is in a good place at the moment.
"We've taken some steps because of that struggle, that process you go through. We’ve managed to stay strong, to keep belief, to keep working."
Brighton finished 15th and 17th in their first two seasons back in the top flight under previous boss Chris Hughton.
Hughton was sacked soon after the club had narrowly avoided relegation in 2019 and replaced by Potter, who led them to another 15thplaced finish at the end of his first season.
“The exciting thing is there is a lot more to come," Potter added. "They are just green shoots at the moment.
"We’ve got a nice mix of players who are at the start of their careers who are really exciting that we need to help. At the moment, it’s just potential but there are exciting things there.
“We’ve also got some really good players that are in good moments in their careers that have good experience, like Lewis Dunk and Pascal Gross.
"But we know results can quickly turn as well so you have to keep focused, keep humble, focus on the next game and fight for the points against Crystal Palace.”
Potter, meanwhile, believes referees will only be treated with the respect they deserve if society undergoes a cultural change.
Premier League official Mike Dean was recently forced to stand down after receiving online death threats, while referee Darren Drysdale was this week involved in an ugly confrontation with Ipswich Town midfielder Alan Judge.
Potter said: “It's a cultural problem, it's not just players, it's everybody. I think we disrespect the referee a little bit too much in football.
"We don't appreciate how difficult the job is. We think it's OK to speak to them the way we do and it's not correct.
"It's a challenge and a massive part of a problem in football that we haven't managed to get a grip on if we're honest."