Chelsea v Newcastle – Preview, Predictions, and Best Bets

Chelsea face Newcastle in the English Premier League on Monday. The Blues have won 10 of their last 12 home matches vs the Magpies. Eddie Howe’s side have lost eight of their 13 away league matches this term but have two wins in the last three on the road.

Chelsea Form

The Blues are highly inconsistent and languish 11th in the league table and 12th in the home league table. Their last ten matches in all competitions have only yielded three victories. After leaking four goals in thrashing at Liverpool (4-1) and at home to Wolves (4-2), they won successive away matches.

A 3-1 FA Cup win at Aston Villa preceded a 3-1 win at Crystal Palace. A 1-1 draw at Man City saw a strong display for an hour. Since then, they’ve lost to a depleted Liverpool side in the Carabao Cup final before beating Leeds 3-2 in the last minute. They could only draw 2-2 at Brentford last weekend.

Chelsea Team News

The Blues continue to have a plethora of injuries. Reece James, Wesley Fofana, and Benoit Badiashile are injured at the back and Levi Colwill and Ben Chilwell have joined them in the treatment room.

Conor Gallagher is fighting an illness whilst Romeo Lavia, Lesley Ugochukwu, and Carney Chukwuemeka are all absent. Christopher Nkunku is another who will play no part.

Chelsea Motivation

It’s difficult to gauge the Blues’ motivation in the league. They can’t finish much higher than about ninth and the FA Cup is the main priority now.

They will look to win this match but don’t be surprised to see them play a pragmatic game.

Newcastle Form

Having had a disastrous ten-game run with saw a Champions League and Carabao Cup exit and six losses in seven in the league, the Toon are back to being in good form. Since that steak, it’s one loss in eight matches as Eddie Howe has turned things around. They won 2-0 at Fulham in the FA Cup and then 3-1 at Aston Villa in the league.

A 4-4 home draw vs Luton preceded a 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest. They then drew 2-2 at home to Bournemouth as their home struggles persisted, before being thrashed 4-1 at Arsenal. After progressing past Blackburn in the FA Cup, they beat Wolves 3-0 at home last weekend.

Newcastle Team News

Nick Pope is absent in goal so Martin Dubravka will deputise. Kieran Tripper is out so Tino Livramento will start at right back. Sandro Tonali is banned in midfield whilst Joelinton is injured. Callum Wilson is absent up front.

Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy are fighting to start on the wing. Joe Willock is set to be preferred to Lewis Miley in midfield. Lewis Hall is ineligible against his parent club.

Newcastle Motivation

This match comes before an FA Cup trip to Man City. Newcastle are currently two points off seventh place and have a chance of qualifying for Europe.

They will play largely on the break at Stamford Bridge using their pace in the wide areas. Newcastle will play to win but would see a draw as a good result too.

Key Stats

Chelsea have lost 1 of their last 12 home matches (8 wins, 3 draws)

Chelsea have kept no clean sheets in their last 8 matches (16 goals leaked)

Chelsea have won 10 of their last 12 home matches vs Newcastle

Newcastle have lost just once in 8 matches in all competitions (4 wins, 3 draws)

Newcastle have won 4 of their last 6 away matches (WWWWLD)

Verdict

The Magpies are playing well on their travels right now. They look certain to score at Stamford Bridge and they have enough to avoid defeat, at least.

Best Bet: Both Teams to Score + Over 2.5 goals at 1.66
Alternate Bet: Newcastle win/draw double chance at 1.95
Goalscorer Tip: Alexander Isak to score anytime at 2.60

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis