Match Preview: Newcastle United vs Chelsea FC

Chelsea travel to Tyneside this Premier League gameweek, after grabbing crucial three points against Manchester City last week and convincingly beating Arsenal in their own backyard in the mid-week League Cup tie. Alan Pardew’s Magpies will hope to stop Jose Mourinho’s Blues who have garnered a momentum of sorts, winning all their six matches in October.

DATE & TIME: November 2, 2013 at 08:45 EDT; November 2, 2013 at 12:45 GMT; November 2, 2013 at 13:45 BST; November 2, 2013 at 13:45 WAT; November 2, 2013 at 14:45 CAT; November 2, 2013 at 15:45 EAT; November 2, 2013 at 18:15 IST.

VENUE: St. James’ Park, Tyneside, United Kingdom.

TV/STREAMING NEWS: The match will be telecast live on Fox Sports 1 in Australia, Sky Sport 2 in Austria, SuperSport3 Africa in African sub-continent, Sportsnet Ontario/East/West/Pacific in Canada, ESPN + Sur in Colombia, Al Jazeera Sport HD1/HD6 in Egypt, Foot+ in France, Sky Sport 2/HD in Germany, ESPN India & ESPN HD in India, ESPN in Indian Sub-continent, Canal+ Fútbol/HD in Spain, Al Jazeera Sport HD1/HD6 in UAE, BT Sport 1 in UK and NBC Sports Network in USA.
The match is also available online on Chelsea TV.

NEWCASTLE UNITED SQUAD NEWS: Fabricio Coloccini, Ryan Taylor & Jonas Gutierrez are out due to injury. Massadio Haidara, Steven Taylor & Paul Dummet are also doubtful.
Predicted Starting XI: Krul, Debuchy, Williamson, Yanga-Mbwiya, Santon, Tioté, Cabaye, Arfa, Sissoko, Remy, Cissé.

CHELSEA FC SQUAD NEWS: Marco van Ginkel is the only absentee. Jose Mourinho, otherwise, has a full squad to choose from, and has already spoken about his selection dilemma in the pre-match press conference.
Predicted Starting XI: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Lampard, Mata, Oscar, Hazard, Torres.

REFEREE: Lee Mason.

TACTICAL OVERVIEW: Newcastle, who currently sit in the middle of the league table, have failed to find much of a form this season. They have had their spurts of brilliance, like against Liverpool when they held on to a 2-2 draw or against Manchester City in the League Cup, when they made City toil hard into the extra time. Pardew’s inability to bring out the best of his players and in-game tactical follies have hampered the Toons’ chances. Lets take a look at the average team statistics.
Newcastle’s biggest problem has been their leaky defense which has a tendency to concede soft goals at crucial junctures of the game. Set-pieces have also been a problem, with Newcastle failing to score a headed goal from a corner since 2011. The Magpies tend to shoot from the distance, with 14 out of 16 goal attempts against Sunderland in the lost cause, came from outside the penalty box(as illustrated by the following graphic).
Counter-attacks through the wings is how Newcastle likes to play it, but if not for some drastic mistakes from the backline, Chelsea shouldn’t have much of a problem shutting down Pardew’s boys.

FORM INDEX: Newcastle – WLLWDL; Chelsea – LWDWWW.

FUN TRIVIA:

• Chelsea seek a seventh consecutive win in all competitions this weekend.
• Newcastle is the longest trip the away fans have to make in this Premier League season.
• Michael Essien’s next appearance will be his 250th for the club.
• Chelsea have won all five games in the league when they opened the scoring, while Newcastle lost the last three matches in which their opponents scored the opening goal.
• Chelsea are undefeated in 16 of their last 17 Premier League matches.

IN A NUTSHELL: Chelsea have an opportunity to grab three easy points this weekend, as Newcastle are not in the best of their forms. A win will help the Blues to go on top of the table, as the current league toppers Arsenal play Liverpool later in the evening. An away trip & three achievable points – lets do it!