Newcastle United went into the international break following two competitive 2-0 defeats and are desperate for a return to form and an end to the injury crisis that has ravaged the club. With Sandro Tonali also unavailable due to his lengthy suspension, manager Eddie Howe will no doubt be eagerly awaiting the opening of the January transfer market to bolster his squad.
The Magpies sit seventh in the table, six points behind the top four, a gap they can’t afford to grow much bigger as they welcome Chelsea to St James’ Park, where the hosts have won their last four Premier League (PL) matches ‘to nil’. Doing so while scoring an average of two goals per game may have Howe’s outfit feeling a repeat of last season’s 1-0 H2H win here is on the cards – Newcastle’s only victory in their six most recent meetings (D1, L4) with their upcoming opponents.
While five of the last six home H2Hs have seen only one side find the net (W3, L3), Chelsea might feel upbeat about ending Newcastle’s unbeaten home league run (W4) after scoring four times in both of their last two league outings (W1, D1), most recently drawing 4-4 with leaders and reigning champions Manchester City, after which manager Mauricio Pochettino lauded his team for being “brave” enough to go for all three points on an “amazing” evening.
He’s got the Blues creating good chances this campaign, as despite several injury absentees, they’re the joint third-highest in the league in terms of expected goals (xG: 21.7). While that’s helped them go unbeaten in four PL away fixtures (W3, D1) – netting four times in the last two of those – not since 1961 have the west Londoners scored four or more at St James’ Park, although any sort of win would move them to within a point of their hosts.
Players to watch: Anthony Gordon has netted between the 40th and 65th minute in both of Newcastle’s last two home PL matches, while Chelsea’s Cole Palmer recently made his England debut after three goal contributions (G2, A1) against Tottenham (W 4-1) and Man City.
Hot stat: Pochettino has lost just one of his last five visits to St James’ Park (W3, D1) while he also owns an impressive H2H managerial record against Howe (W6, D1, L1).
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