Chelsea are on the up in the Premier League and go into round No. 13 unbeaten in back-to-back matches.
The Blues will restart the Premier League following the international break with a difficult challenge at St. James’ Park against Newcastle United.
Touch, turn and finish. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/HnbJFExJJC— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 22, 2023
Touch, turn and finish. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/HnbJFExJJC
Newcastle did the Premier League double over Chelsea last season, winning 1-0 at St. James’ Park and drawing 1-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Despite Newcastle claiming a 1-0 home win last season, Chelsea have a record of 3W-2D-1L in their last six fixtures against the Magpies.
Eddie Howe’s team suffered a shock 2-0 loss away to Bournemouth just before the international break.
The loss put the brakes on a great run of domestic form for Newcastle. The team had gone unbeaten in their previous five fixtures before the defeat.
Chelsea pulled off a fantastic 4-4 draw with Man City at Stamford Bridge in their match before the international break.
The result showed the team’s strengths going forward, but its weaknesses at the back, too.
Mauricio Pochettino’s Blues took 11 points from the last 18 points on offer in the league. Chelsea scored 16 goals and conceded 10 times.
Chelsea are a strong road team and have the third-best away points total this season, with 10. They are on a three-game away winning streak ahead of the trip to Newcastle.
The Magpies also took 11 points from the last 18 points available to them. They scored 11 goals and conceded six times.
Newcastle have the third-best points total playing at home in the league this term, with 15.
Since losing 2-1 to Liverpool in August, Newcastle have won their last four league matches at St. James’ Park. They kept clean sheets in all four of those fixtures.
Newcastle allowed just three goals in their six league games at St. James’ Park this term. Two of those three goals were conceded to Liverpool.
Just four points separate these teams in the table ahead of Saturday.
A win for Chelsea would dent Newcastle’s hopes of finishing in the top four this term. A win for Newcastle would undo Chelsea’s momentum.
Pochettino could be without up to eight players, including Ben Chilwell, Romeo Lavia, and Wesley Fofana.
The Chelsea manager does have a large squad and Cole Palmer will likely play a significant role once more in the starting XI.
The talk about Newcastle continues to be about their list of suspended and injured players. Howe could be without 15 first-team players for Saturday.
The last time these teams met in the league, the game finished 1-1. Saturday’s match should once again see a score draw between the sides, as they split the points with a 1-1 draw.