In looking at the recent trends and stats, in the Chelsea vs Newcastle United series, one can see why the Blues are so heavily favored. The southwest London club have only lost one of their last 25 Premier League matches at home versus Newcastle United (W18 D6).
That was back in May of 2012. Meanwhile Newcastle have lost their last seven away league fixtures at Chelsea, with a -15 goal differential on aggregate (3GF, 18 GA). Manager Thomas Tuchel has to like his chances in this one.
Newcastle United at Chelsea FC FYIs
Kickoff: 8pm GMT Monday Feb 15, Stamford Bridge
Team News for Both Sides: go here
PL Form: Chelsea FC WWWDL Newcastle United WLWLL
PL Position: Chelsea FC 5th, 39 pts Newcastle United 17th, 25 pts
Odds: Chelsea FC win 1/4 Draw 6/1 Newcastle United win 13/1
Referee: Peter Bankes
Here’s our best guess as to what the German might go with in his first team here: four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards. Remember of course that it’s just a guess.
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction vs Newcastle United
Edouard Mendy; Reece James, Kurt Zouma, Antonio Rudiger, Ben Chilwell; Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante; Mason Mount, Timo Werner; Tammy Abraham
Prediction: Chelsea 1, Newcastle United o
Someone will score on Tuchel’s Blues at some point, but we don’t think it will be here. The Magpies are still kind of a mess right now, as injuries have really taken a severe toll on their squad depth this campaign.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.