Newcastle vs Chelsea – as it happened: Blues make it three out of three
All the latest from St James' Park
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Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea come into their game in the North East as one of few unbeaten teams in the Premier League from the first two games.
New head coach Maurizio Sarri has lifted the mood at the club and has achieved instant results, scoring three goals each in their victories over Huddersfield and Arsenal. Alvaro Morata opened his account for the season in last weekend’s London derby, but the former Napoli manager will hope they are tighter at the back when they travel to St James’ after they initially threw away a two-goal advantage.
Rafa Benítez’s Newcastle side picked up their first point of the season last weekend against Cardiff, but the Spaniard will be disappointed not to be heading into the fixture against his former club on the back of a win after Kenedy missed an injury-time penalty. The Magpies have been assigned a tough start to the season at home, having already welcomed Spurs, who left victorious on the opening weekend, to St James’ Park this season.
We will have all the latest from St James' Park:
Preview
When time does it start?
Newcastle United vs Chelsea kicks off at 4PM (BST).
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports’ Premier League and Main Event channels from 3:30PM Sky Sports subscribers can also stream the game online via the SkyGo app.
It’s a big game for…
DeAndre Yedlin: The 25-year-old was not risked by Benitez against Cardiff after suffering a knee injury against his former club Spurs. The Magpies are in somewhat of a right-back crisis currently after Javier Manquillo was forced off through injury against Cardiff and his replacement Isaac Hayden saw red later on. The USA international will face one of his sternest test this season when he comes up against Eden Hazard and Pedro, who were both impressive against Arsenal.
Stat…
4: Newcastle have won four of their last five league matches against Chelsea in St James’ Park. The run includes a 3-0 victory for the Magpies on the final day of last season.
Remember when…
Newcastle may have an excellent recent home record against Sunday’s opponents, but they have not beaten the FA Cup holders at Stamford Bridge since a double from Papiss Cisse secured a 2-0 victory for them in May 2012. Their miserable record in West London, which has seen them lose every game there since, includes a 5-1 hammering in February 2016 after the hosts scored three goals in the opening 17 minutes. However, the best goal of the game was undoubtedly Andros Townsend’s consolation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzzls8917s4
Player to watch…
Mateo Kovacic: Eden Hazard was credited as the player who turned the game back in Chelsea’s favour in last weekend’s 3-2 victory over Arsenal, but his Croatian teammate also had a huge role to play on his debut. The Real Madrid loanee made some crucial tackles and helped the hosts wrestle back control of the midfield before Alonso’s winner. A hostile environment will mean the former Inter Milan midfielder will have to be at his best to help out N’Golo Kante and Jorginho.
Past three-meetings…
Newcastle United 3 (Gayle, Pérez x2) Chelsea 0, Premier League, May 2018
Chelsea 3 (Batshuayi x2, Alonso) Newcastle United 0, FA Cup, January 2018
Chelsea 3 (Hazard x2, Morata) Newcastle United 1 (Gayle), Premier League, December 2017
Form guide…
Newcastle United: LD
Chelsea: WW
Odds…
Newcastle to win: 21/5
Chelsea to win: 4/6
Draw: 14/5
(Odds provided by 888 Sport)
Prediction...
Newcastle 1-2 Chelsea
63 mins: Newcastle 0 - 0 Chelsea
Newcastle make it to the halfway line in their most recent attack but once again they give away a foul, Chelsea keep possession again just in front of the 18-yard box, Azpilicueta whips a cross in but Morata is offside
68 mins: Newcastle 0 - 0 Chelsea
Morata and Pedro are off for Chelsea as they call on Giroud and Willian to make an impact in this game, a goal could open the game up for an exciting last 20 minutes.
70 minutes: Newcastle 0 - 0 Chelsea
Free kick for Chelsea, Willian targets Kovacic in the box but Diame clears it away
72 mins: Newcastle 0 - 0 Chelsea
Rudiger wakes everyone up from their slumber as he fires a long strike from outside the area forcing Dubravka into a diving save but it beats the goalkeeper and rattles against the crossbar.
76 mins: GOAL! Newcastle 0 - 1 Chelsea - Hazard
Hazard scores the penalty after Alonso went down in the area Schar sliding in a getting the ball before connecting with the Chelsea man. Another reason why VAR would have been useful here
80 mins: Fulham 3 - 2 Burnley
Understandably the tempo has mellowed in this second half at Craven Cottage, Fulham still lead by one going into the last ten minutes.
82 mins: GOAL! Newcastle 1 - 1 Chelsea - Joselu
Joselu levels for Newcastle, Yedlin gets the ball on the right wing and elbows Giroud in the process, the Chelsea defenders go to sleep waiting for a whistle that never comes and Yedlin finds Joselu on the near post who tucks the ball away with ease.
86 mins: GOAL! Newcastle 1 - 2 Chelsea - Yedlin OG
Chelsea are back in front, Alonso recives the ball in the box and shoots with a low right footed shot, Yedlin sticks out a toe and the ball is deflected into the back of the net.
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