Newcastle vs Chelsea: Big Bet Preview
Credit: Thomas McAtee / Shutterstock.com
Newcastle United vs Chelsea
(SAT 20 Dec, 12:30pm UK - Sky Sports)
Saturday’s early kick-off sees two of the Champions League hopefuls face off at St. James Park. Is it a chance for Newcastle to make some ground up after starting well off the pace? Or will Chelsea get a result and start build a cushion between themselves and the chasing pack? It’s a big game for some big teams in this weeks’ Big Bet!
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A League Cup win and a couple of European jaunts is all well and good, but the real measure of success for the Saudi regime at Newcastle was always wether or not they could make it to back-to-back Tipple Big Bets. You’re welcome, lads. They’ll be hoping the result is better this week than their showing at the Stadium of Light last time out, they could start by actually turning up.
Chelsea are also recent Big Bet alumni and will be looking to raise their performance levels back to where they were in the game against Arsenal. Their form has taken a bit of a hit since, and a big game against a struggling Newcastle could be just the tonic to get them back on track.
Form
Newcastle’s league form has been patchy all season, and they seem to have saved their best stuff for the glamorous Champions League and EFL Cup nights. Last season’s trophy lift showed them just how huge winning any type of trophy can be for a club like Newcastle and the Champions League is the biggest and best club competition in the world, so you can hardly blame them, but at some point they have to turn things around in the league to have any hope of being in Europe again next season. If they keep struggling, questions will begin to be asked of Eddie Howe.
Results have certainly improved since the last international break, even if performances have still lacked a real spark, they got a fantastic win against Manchester City at home and followed that up with a huge win away at Everton. Just as things were looking up, they drew at home to a sub-par Spurs side, limped past 10-man Burnley and lost to Sunderland in embarrassing fashion last weekend. Still, three wins, a draw and a loss in their last five league games is nothing to be sniffed at, especially while balancing European commitments alongside it all
St. James’ Park is still a fortress, too. They’re 6th in the home league table with 5 wins, a draw and 2 losses from their 8 games so far. Their only two Premier League losses at home have come to Arsenal (when they were really good) and Liverpool (when they were less rubbish) so it looks to be a difficult test for Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea to try and overcome.
Speaking of patchy form, introducing Chelsea FC. It’s a patch-off. The Blues backed up their thumping victory over Barcelona with a spirited and hard-fought draw against league-leaders Arsenal which they earned with a man disadvantage for an hour. Liverpool are a mess and with City looking shaky, were Chelsea going to be Arsenal’s true title challengers? They then lost 3-1 to Leeds and saw out a weak 0-0 draw at Bournemouth that they probably should’ve lost. Star-man Cole Palmer was back in business and got up and running with a goal in a 2-0 win over Everton last time out, could he be the difference in this game? 2 wins, 2 draws and a loss in their last 5, if they want to stay in the hunt and not be left behind by Villa, City and Arsenal at the top they need to pick up wins consistently, and fast.
Chelsea are, to their credit, the second-best away side in the league. They’ve put on some of their best displays on the road and have managed some big results, they’ll hope it’s that version of Chelsea that turns up this weekend and not “gets turned over 3-1 at Elland Road” Chelsea. You never know with them.
Both sides need a win here, Chelsea top the red-card standings with 4 and Newcastle will be chasing a big reaction from the Sunderland game. It could get feisty. Andrew Madley may end up dishing out more Christmas cards than he had planned.
Head-to-head
Chelsea have lost their last four trips to St James’ park in all competitions, with their last win there in October of 2021. The Newcastle team certainly looks a lot different now than it did on that day pre-Saudi billions.
Over their last 10 Premier League meetings, Chelsea lead the way with 6 wins to Newcastle’s 3, with just a single draw in that time. The last 0-0 between these two was all the way back in April 2007, so expect goals in any case.
All three of Newcastle’s wins in their last 10 meetings came after their big cash injection, so their form is turning around against the Blues in recent years. Can they add another big victory to their catalogue a jump-start a push for European football from here?
Key Battle
Sandro Tonali vs Cole Palmer
I had Bruno as my difference make for Newcastle last week, and he let me down big time. It was a stale game that nobody really did much in, but it’s just the kind of occasion you’d hope he could grab by the scruff of the neck and make his own. Alas, it wasn’t to be, so this week I’m turning my attention to his Italian teammate Sandro Tonali.
Joelinton does all the tough-tackling, dark arts side of the game, Bruno is their high-energy attacking threat and Tonali fills in the blanks. He is such a luxury for a team like Newcastle, and the fans have really taken to him since he worked his way back into the team following a ban for gambling. His ball retention abilities are phenomenal, gliding with it at his feet to escape danger and feeding a pass to a teammate in a stronger position is his speciality. He creates a lot of chances, sees a lot of the ball and is the victim of fouls much more often than he is the perpetrator. If you lose control of the midfield and allow Tonali to have his run of the park, you’ll find your defence unpicked sooner rather than later. He is also fond of a long-range pile driver, but we are yet to see him find the net this season so far. Has he been saving up a screamer for the visit of Chelsea?
Stepping up to the plate to disrupt Newcastle’s plans, Cole Palmer. Chelsea’s maestro made his long-awaited return from injury recently, and got himself on the scoresheet for the first time since September with a goal against Everton last week.
I don’t need to tell you how brilliant Palmer is. Since his move to Chelsea, he has been one of the most efficient goal scorers and chance creators in the league and really made his name as one of the best players in the world. If he’s back firing fit, he is a danger to anyone. That Newcastle midfield will have their work cut out trying to contain an on-song Cole Palmer.
The Newcastle fans, like naughty children across the world, will spend the Christmas period worried that Cole will turn up at their door.
Preview
A Christmas Cracker at St. James’ Park awaits to ring in the festive period!
Chelsea arrive in Newcastle to play the villain, a role they know all too well. If results go their way, Chelsea could be right back into the title mix, even if they won’t quite top the tree on Christmas Day. A loss could see them drop as low as 8th and put some clear space between them and those who have true title credentials.
Newcastle need a win, and they need it badly. Another loss here would see the coveted European spots slip further from their grasp as the top four and chasing pack would have yet another opportunity to peel away from the Magpies’ reach. Crucially, Sunderland could extend their lead over their rivals to seven points, it’s unlikely the decision makers at the club would accept this, and it could spell worrying times for Howe and Tindall. Neither team can really afford to lose this one, both have everything to play for. Can Newcastle atone for their display at the Stadium of Light with a big home win to appease the Toon Army? Or will they be frantically writing to Santa with “New Manager” scrawled at the bottom of their Christmas lists?
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas as the fixtures pile up! It’s a time for sharing joy and cheer, but there can only be one winner here. Who will come out on top in this weeks’ Big Bet?
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