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Chelsea can go at the top of the Premier League table with a win against Newcastle, at least for a few hours. But with Arsenal and Liverpool playing against eachother later in the day, The Blues can come out of this round all smiles if they get the three points here.
Chelsea is in amazing form at the moment. They had a shaky start to the season but then came the 1-1 draw against Tottenham, a match they deserved to win, and from then on things really took off. The Blues adjusted to Mourinho`s demands and are currently on a run of 6 consecutive wins in all competitions, most of them very impressive. In the last 6 days Chelsea won against Manchester City (PL) and Arsenal (League Cup), so confidence confidence really couldn`t be any higher. One of the keys to Chelsea`s success is the fantastic offensive lineup and depth. Torres, Ba and Eto`o are fighting for the lone striker spot, while the 3-man line behind is arguably the best in the world. Hazard, Willian, Mata, Oscar, De Bruyne, van Ginkel and Schurrle are competing for the three attacking midfielder starting spots, all of them being in excellent form, except van Ginkel (injured).
Newcastle was very poor in the first few rounds and they did not improve much. While they got some results and are currently on an honorable 11th place in the standings, they got lucky a few times. Newcastle is not playing great and everybody knows it. Their defense is particularly exposed. Newcastle is also in a patch of bad form, winning only once in the last 5 games in all competitions. They even managed to lose to bottom placed Sunderland in the last league game and are on the back of a 2-0 extra time home defeat to Manchester City in the League Cup, with City fielding some reserves.
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Team news & lineups
Newcastle will have to deal with a couple of injury problems for today. Coloccini, R. Taylor and Gutierrez are out, while Haidara, Dummett and St. Taylor are questionable. As for the visitors, Mourinho will be more than happy to have a full squad to choose from. Van Ginkel is the only injury and he is out since the beginning of the season.
Newcastle United: Krul – Debuchy, Santon, Williamson, Yanga-Mbiwa – Tiote, Sissoko, Cabaye, Ben Arfa, Gouffran – Remy
Chelsea: Cech – Ivanovic, Cahill (Luiz), Terry, Cole – Lampard, Ramires – Hazard, Oscar, Schurrle – Torres
Chelsea didn`t have an easy time against Newcastle in the last years. Since 2009, Chelsea has won 3 meetings, Newcastle won 3 and 2 matches ended up in a draw.
Newcastle is playing worse than their standings show and with all the injury problems they have for today, you can`t look past Chelsea in this game. Leaving aside the quality and form, clearly on the visitors` side, Chelsea`s top-class offense will surely be a nightmare for Newcastle`s poor defensive play. Also, after playing 120 minutes midweek against City and with a number of important players missing, Newcastle could have some fitness problems. Chelsea instead can send difference makers at any time on the pitch in the second half if things are not going well. Against Norwich a few weeks ago, Hazard and Willian decided the game in 5 minutes after being sent on. Finally, motivation is very high for The Blues considering the duel between Arsenal and Liverpool later in the day. I expect Chelsea to be able to create a high number of chances, and the quality they have up front should help them convert some of them. I don`t care too much about the recent results between the teams, things are different now. With Chelsea`s current form you can`t expect the odds to be too high and they are surely not great, but the chances of this bet to be a winner are solid and justify the investment. Take Chelsea to win. My pick is Newcastle – Chelsea 1-3.
Pick: Chelsea
Odds: 1.64 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 5.12
Event date: 2 November
Editor Facts
- Rostick is 4 for 6 in tips involving Chelsea this season
