After a turbulent week for Chelsea Football Club off the pitch, team manager Thomas Tuchel and his side will look to take some focus off of the boardroom and onto the pitch when they host Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge.
NEWS OFF THE PITCH
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was the latest Russian oligarch to be added to the UK government’s Russian Sanctions list. He had all his assets frozen and was banned from traveling or conducting business in the UK.
As you might imagine, that will have a significant impact on the football club. There were genuine fears that the Pensioners wouldn’t be able to finish the season when the news first broke. Cooler heads prevailed, and the UK government issued the club a special license that allows them to continue operating on football grounds.
The special license will allow the club to travel on away days, pay all their employees, and keep Stamford Bridge and Kingsmeadow open for fans who have already purchased tickets for future home matches involving the men’s and women’s senior sides.
No fans may purchase tickets to attend home games involving Chelsea from Thursday onwards. Things then went from bad to worse on Friday for the embattled club.
UK bank Barclays suspended all credit cards connected to the club whilst sponsor 3 mobile informed Chelsea they wanted their logo removed from the club’s shirt immediately.
Safe to say, Stamford Bridge will look a little different when Newcastle visits this coming Sunday.
Chelsea vs Newcastle FYIs
When is it? Sunday, 13 March 2022 2 PM.
Where is it? Stamford Bridge, London.
Who’s in form? Chelsea (WLWWW) Newcastle (WDWWW)
What are the odds? Chelsea (-320) Newcastle (+900) Draw (+450)
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NEWS ON THE PITCH
Enough of the backroom shenanigans, let’s see what issues the club faces on the pitch ahead of the Newcastle match this weekend.
Ben Chilwell remains out for the foreseeable future after damaging part of the ACL in his knee. After initially being ruled out for only a month to a month and a half, it was learned that he would require surgery to repair it.
We do not expect Chilwell to play again this season.
Reece James is still out of contention after picking up a muscle injury in his leg against Burnley last weekend. In a worrying sign, Thomas Tuchel revealed in the pre-match press conference that the club doesn’t have a clear idea of what the exact nature of the injury is. That effectively rules him out for at least the Newcastle match.
The Blues have three players who are not likely to take part in the Newcastle clash because of illness. Marcos Alonso is officially out with COVID-19, with his return date unclear.
The other two players of concern are Cesar Azpilicueta and Christian Pulisic. The American missed the Norwich clash with a high temperature and stomach cramps.
Azpilicueta had to be substituted off at halftime in the same fixture after succumbing to the same symptoms. Neither will be risked unnecessarily if they aren’t 100% recovered by the time this match comes around.
Club record signing Romelu Lukaku remains out of favor at the moment. Whether or not he starts will be an interesting subplot. The Blues are looking to win their sixth league game in a row, and to do that they will have to beat a Newcastle side that hasn’t lost since the week before Christmas.
Stuart Kavanagh is an up-and-coming sports journalist from Melbourne, Australia. Along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, he is also the co-host of the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast. Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.