Premier League 2012-13: Chelsea vs Newcastle United preview

Newcastle would have fond memories of the Bridge when they take on Chelsea on 25th August,2012. Only four months ago, they handed a 2-0 defeat to the Blues which helped them finish fifth, just ahead of Chelsea in the league table. This time around things might not be that easy for the Magpies as they face a Blue army bolstered by reinforcements in various departments.

Chelsea have made a positive start to the season, winning both their league games. An easy 2-0 victory over Wigan in the opening game was followed by a hard-fought 4-2 victory over newly-promoted Reading in mid-week. Though Reading lead the Blues 2-1 until late in the second half, they could not withstand Chelsea’s wave of attacks. The onslaught began in the 70th minute when Gary Cahill’s powerful drive into the goal made the scores level. Ten minutes later, Ashley Cole’s pin-point cross found Fernando Torres who had no trouble tapping in the ball. Branislav Ivanovic rounded off a successful Chelsea evening with the final goal deep into injury time.

The Magpies opened their season with a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspurs at home last weekend, with Ben Arfa’s penalty late in the second half  gave Alan Pardew’s men full points. The Toons would want to keep the momentum going and unlike Chelsea they had the entire week to chalk out their strategies for the game.

Chelsea’s probable lineup (4-2-3-1): Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Lampard, Oscar,Hazard, Mata, Torres.

Newcastle’s probable lineup (4-4-2): Krul, Simpson, Taylor, Perch, Santon, Ben Arfa, Tiote, Cabaye, Gutierrez, Cisse, Demba Ba.

Match Predictions:

While Chelsea have the home advantage, they would definitely be physically less prepared after a tiring mid-week game. Newcastle would not make life easy for Chelsea and will put up a tough fight.

Chelsea 2 Newcastle 2

Tags: Chelsea, Newcastle, Prediction, Preview, Tottenham

Category: EPL, Football