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Newcastle United v Chelsea Premiership Prediction
Saturday, 03 December 2011
Barclays Premier League
Newcastle United v Chelsea, 12:45
Author: Thomas Rooney 30/11/2011
If you had looked at this fixture at the start of the season, there is no way you would have predicted that Newcastle United would be ahead of Chelsea in the Premier League table.
This is the reality though as the two teams prepare to meet this weekend, a result of Newcastle’s excellent form and Chelsea’s unconvincing performances under Andre Villas-Boas.
As things stand, Newcastle are 4th in the table ahead of 5th placed Chelsea by a single point. So, the Blues could return to the top four this weekend, but perhaps more significantly, Newcastle could move four points clear of their opponents.
Going into December, this would be extremely significant. The pressure is already on Chelsea boss Villas-Boas and even though the win against Wolves last time out was welcome, defeat this weekend and the dreaded ‘crisis’ word will be mentioned again.
Focusing on Newcastle for now though, there isn’t too much to say that hasn’t been said already. They have performed fantastically well this season and much better than expected. They have a solid back-line and strikers – particularly Demba Ba – high in confidence.
The point at Manchester United last time out was perhaps their best result of the season too. They suffered their first defeat of the campaign at Manchester City before heading to Old Trafford, so they showed tremendous spirit to come away with a 1-1 draw.
A result against Chelsea would end this extremely difficult run – Man City (a), Man United (a), Chelsea (h) – in a positive light too.
If they can beat the Blues, they would have passed their toughest tests of the campaign with flying colours. Then, the sky is the limit for this Newcastle team in terms of their ambitions for the season.
Switching the focus back to Chelsea, it has to be said that they won’t relish this trip. Newcastle is a difficult place to go at the best of times, but when your confidence is fragile and the hosts are in fantastic spirits, it makes it even more challenging.
Something Chelsea do have at their disposal though is attacking talent. Even if they are slightly below par, the likes of Frank Lampard, Juan Mata, Daniel Sturridge or Didier Drogba can produce a moment of magic to win the game.
Newcastle on their other hand – not taking anything away from their recent form – probably need most things to click into place if they are to come away with the points against a team as talented as Chelsea.
With this in mind, it seems a good shout to back a narrow Chelsea win this weekend. They have shown good spirit on the road this year while under pressure – the 1-0 win at Blackburn for example – so they will come away from this entertaining clash with the points.
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Football betting tip: Chelsea @ 1/1 with Bet365 - £200 deposit bonus
Correct score prediction: Newcastle United 1:2 Chelsea @ 10 with Betfair
Watch our Football Video Podcast on the Newcastle United v Chelsea match by Thomas Rooney and Pete South including their predictions.