EPL leaders and title favourites Chelsea will pay a visit to Newcastle United as the teams kick start football action on a busy Saturday.
EPL leaders and title favourites Chelsea will pay a visit to Newcastle United as the teams kick start football action on a busy Saturday.
Jose Mourinho’s men will put their unbeaten record on the line as the west Londoners haven’t won a Premier League game at the Geordies under the management of Jose Mourinho.
The Blue beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 on Wednesday night at Stamford Bridge to reinforce their six-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table but a 0-0 draw prior to Sunderland proves that anything is possible.
Chelsea are unbeaten in 24 games but could face a strong contender in Alan Pardew’s men who will be gearing to take on the Blues at St. James Park. Mourinho will be reminded of his side’s 2-0 loss in the corresponding fixture last season and they face another ignominy seeing their opponents heading into this tie unbeaten in their last five home league matches.
The last three matches for Newcastle ended up in wins as QPR, Liverpool and Leicester City all tasted 1-0 defeats in front of the Geordie faithful.
Newcastle manager has sounded out the alarm to his Saturday rivals stating that the ‘unbeaten’ run will be impossible for Chelsea to hold on to. Pardew said, “I think it’s difficult obviously Arsenal have done it and Chelsea have come pretty close before. But not in all competitions – that is impossible and I think Jose has admitted that. But they’re making a very good job of it at the moment.
It’s the best Chelsea team that I’ve ever seen and I’ve watched them since I was about 12 so I know them pretty well. I think Jose is pretty pleased with what he’s got.”
Chelsea will have star striker Diego Costa available after a one-match ban, while defender Gary Cahill will also start after recovering from an injury. However, bad news for the side is that their key anchorman Nemanja Matic is suspended after picking up his fifth booking of the campaign against Tottenham.
How crucial will be his absence in the middle of the park?
For Newcastle United, forward Moussa Sissoko and midfielder Jack Colback return from suspension but doubts remain over skipper Fabricio Coloccini who is yet to recover from a hamstring injury while Mike Williamson, Daryl Janmaat and Sammy Ameobi all face late fitness tests.
Going by the current form, Chelsea remain hot favourites for this tie and end Mourinho’s dry spell of wins at Newcastle United but don’t expect the latter to go easy.
Chelsea to win by a fine margin of 2-1.
