Despite starting the weekend lower than their opponents, Chelsea are being backed as favourites by Harry Redknapp to beat Newcastle at St James’ Park on Saturday, but the game is already dividing opinion. With a win, Mauricio Pochettino’s men can close the gap on the Magpies to one point, but they must first overcome a hostile atmosphere in the north east.
Newcastle have struggled to find the consistency that propelled them to the Champions League this season, with their last back-to-back league victories coming in September. Eddie Howe’s normal routine has been disrupted and challenged by their European adventure, which landed them in the toughest group available.
Although they had been on a 10-game domestic unbeaten run, beating Arsenal and both Manchester clubs across the league and Carabao Cup before the loss to Bournemouth ahead of the international break, a disappointing loss to Borussia Dortmund has left them with just two wins in the last six.
With the team on the verge of falling behind the top five pace setters, serious questions are being raised about the squad, which has been ravaged by injury issues. The Reds could be missing up to 12 players for the game, putting Mauricio Pochettino’s remaining six men into context.
The match is still one of the most anticipated of the season, with two high-flying sides clashing with implications for the rest of the season, especially with hopes of gaining European football in 2024/25 so high. The Blues are already 10 points off the top four, and nine points behind fifth-placed Aston Villa, and will be keen not to let that gap widen any further.
Even with a positive week before the international break, Chelsea has a tendency to be inconsistent, despite their strong record against the league’s top teams. In this regard, Newcastle may be the ideal opponent for them, and with a severely depleted squad, there has possibly never been a better time to make this trip.
That is certainly what former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp believes. “This should be good; we’ll see where these two sides are this season,” he told BetVictor.
“Newcastle have had a terrible run of injuries recently, and they’ll be hoping to get one or two boys back for this one.” We’ve seen the difference in this side when one or two lads are injured; they lack depth.
“In recent weeks, Chelsea has been scoring goals. Poch is finding a system and an 11 that work for him after four games at Spurs and four at home to City. The balance of the two wingers, [Raheem] Sterling on one side and [Cole] Palmer on the other, appeals to me.
“I wouldn’t have said this a month ago, but I’m saying it now, 2-1 to Chelsea!” Redknapp also expressed surprise that Sterling is still not playing for his country despite coming close to matching last year’s output. “I’m surprised Sterling hasn’t been recalled to the England squad; he’s been right back to his best.”
The 28-year-old had one of his best games in a long time against City, and he was up against Kyle Walker. With Dan Burn out for Newcastle and Matty Targett doubtful, he could face former Chelsea academy starlet Tino Livramento. Lewis Hall, who is on loan from Cobham and is set to join Newcastle on a permanent basis, is also unable to play.
Because of this, as well as Howe’s problems in this game, Danny Murphy predicts the away team to win all three points. He was quoted as saying: “I think Chelsea will win at Newcastle because of Newcastle’s injuries.” Anton Ferdinand, a fellow show pundit and former West Ham defender, echoed those sentiments.
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