Based on what’s been consistently inconsistent season so far, you may be surprised to know that we’ve won EIGHT of our last nine games at St James’ Park in all competitions.
Aside from the late 2-2 draw with Spurs earlier this month, we’ve beaten Man City, Burnley, Fulham (twice), Nottingham Forest, as well as Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League, and Spurs in the Carabao Cup.
Today, Chelsea come to town in what Paul Merson believes to be a “massive” match for both clubs, feeling Chelsea will be out of sight for Eddie Howe’s Mags if they win to move nine clear of Newcastle.
On the flip side, the Sky Sports pundit reckons Newcastle will soon be right back in contention for those Champions League spots should we see off Enzo Maresca’s men, as we’d close to gap to three and suddenly move just one point behind 5th place before others play.
Speaking to [Sportskeeda](https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/news-paul-merson-predicts-tottenham-vs-liverpool-everton-vs-arsenal-premier-league-gw17-fixtures) in his latest prediction piece, Merson said:
> “This is a massive football match. I was at Cardiff the other day watching Chelsea getting an important win in the cup. Now they take the trip to Newcastle in what is a fixture that can have great impact on who finishes inside the top four in the Premier League.
>
> “If Chelsea win this game, they will be nine points ahead of Newcastle. I don’t think Newcastle will be able to catch up with Chelsea if that kind of lead opens up between them.
>
> “Both these teams will not catch Arsenal or Manchester City. So they are essentially fighting for the remaining European spots. And there is a lot of competition for teams to finish behind Arsenal and City.
>
> “Newcastle can’t get going at home for some reason. Now they play back-to-back games against Chelsea and Manchester United. If Newcastle win these two games, they have a strong chance of finishing in the top four.
>
> “Cole Palmer returning to the Chelsea line-up is a massive boost to Enzo Maresca’s team. We saw his impact against Everton. It wasn’t the best of performances from Chelsea, but he still grabbed a really good goal.
>
> “We must not forget that Chelsea were playing competitive football till July last season. They will be forced to manage the minutes of Palmer and others with so many games coming up in the next few weeks. It will be interesting to see how many matches Palmer starts in the festive period.
>
> “I didn’t think Newcastle were great in their win over Fulham in the cup. Chelsea have been decent away from home as well. I think this will be a draw and that’s a good result for Chelsea.”
>
> **Prediction**: Newcastle United 1-1 Chelsea
Elsewhere, Merson is backing Brighton to beat Sunderland, comfortable wins for Bournemouth, Man City and Liverpool, along with Aston Villa to see off Man Utd on Sunday.
* Bournemouth 3-1 Burnley
* Brighton 2-1 Sunderland
* Man City 3-1 West Ham
* Wolves 1-2 Brentford
* Tottenham 1-3 Liverpool
* Everton 1-2 Arsenal
* Leeds 2-0 Crystal Palace
* Aston Villa 3-1 Man United
* Fulham 2-2 Nottingham Forest