Newcastle host Chelsea on Saturday with both teams aiming to kick on to start the festive period.
WATCH — Newcastle v Chelsea
Eddie Howe’s Newcastle reached the League Cup semifinals in midweek by beating Fulham 2-1, but they lost 1-0 at bitter rivals Sunderland last weekend and are in the bottom half of the table. But such is the congested nature of the table, a few wins over the festive period will see Newcastle surge up towards the European spots. They certainly have the quality to do that but a ruthless edge has just been missing this season.
Chelsea also reached the League Cup semifinals in midweek by beating third-tier Cardiff City, but the scrutiny around their manager Enzo Maresca is the talking point right now. After their routine home win against Everton last weekend Maresca, totally unprompted, described the previous few days as the “worst 48 hours” of his time in charge of Chelsea. He said that was because he and his players weren’t supported. But given multiple opportunities in the press he has not clarified who he is referring to but has said he is happy with the fans. That has opened up a can of worms off the pitch and on it Chelsea are eight points off the top of the table after a bad run of results to kick off December. They need a positive festive period to push themselves back into the title conversation.
For live updates and highlights throughout Newcastle vs Chelsea, check out PST’s live blog coverage below.
How to watch Newcastle vs Chelsea live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 7:30am ET Saturday (December 20)
Venue: St James’ Park — Newcastle
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
Newcastle team news, focus
Yoane Wissa has made his long-awaited return from injury and scored in the midweek win against Fulham, which is a big boost for the Magpies. Goalkeeper Nick Pope remains out, while Newcastle are light on defenders with Dan Burn joining Sven Botman, Kieran Trippier and Emil Krafth on the injury list. We can expect Tonali, Woltemade, Gordon and Elanga to start after they were on the bench for the League Cup win against Fulham.
Chelsea team news, focus
The Blues are without Romeo Lavia, Estevao, Liam Delap and Dario Essugo through injury, while Maresca rotated heavily for the midweek League Cup win. Cole Palmer scored in the win against Everton last weekend and he will start as Chelsea’s entire attacking unit clicks better when he’s in the team.
Newcastle vs Chelsea prediction
This always seems like a tough match-up for Chelsea, but I’m going for them to get a big win. Newcastle 1-3 Chelsea.