Premier League betting – Newcastle vs Chelsea

Newcastle vs Chelsea betting preview

Newcastle League Position: 10th League Form: WWLDL

Newcastle’s form this season is still quite erratic, pulling of commanding wins at the Emirates and then last week losing 5-1 against Bolton. The Toon army will be looking for a good defensive display this week against a team who while they still lead the scoring charts in the league haven’t found the net in their last 2 league games. Odds of a Newcastle clean sheet aren’t helped by the absence of centre back Fabricio Coloccini but still at 8/1 at StanJames for a clean sheet it could be an interesting bet.

Newcastle’s season would without a doubt be very different had it not been for the exploits of Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan, 15 goals between them speak of the teams reliance on their goals. 16/1 odds on SkyBet for them to both score look tempting then, especially against an increasingly frail Chelsea back line.

Chelsea League Position: 1st League Form: WLWLL

Chelsea looked infallible early in the season, they were scoring goals for fun and they hadn’t conceded at home at all this season. Then Sunderland visited Stamford Bridge and their seal of invincibility disappeared over 90 minutes. A lot of their drop in form though can be put down to the injuries to John Terry and Frank Lampard coupled with Didier Drogba’s lapse in form due to his malaria. Without Terry the Chelsea defence have looked very unstable, even the return of Brazilian centre back Alex last week couldn’t stem the flow against Birmingham. Ancelotti’s replacements in two full backs Branislav Ivanovic and Paulo Ferriera filling in, in the centre proved disastrous so it must be about time young Dutch centre back Jeffery Bruma gets a look in alongside Alex.

Top scorer Florent Malouda has found it difficult to hit the net in the last few games along with striker Didier Drogba so it’s only a matter of time before they become the force they were at the start at the season, so at 6/1 for both to score on SkyBet it’s well worth a look in. Chelsea will be looking to show how they still are the best team in the premier league with a commanding display at St. James’s Park this weekend so the odds of 15/8 given by StanJames and 888Sport for Chelsea to be winning at Half Time and winning at Full Time again look like promising bets.

Prediction: Draw 2-2 – best odds 18/1 with Sky Bet

The most likely result for these teams is arguably a draw, earlier in the season a Chelsea win would have been a foregone conclusion. However Chelsea’s form has been surprising and Newcastle’s strong forwards will definitely make Chelsea’s make shift back line work.

Highlighted Bets

Newcastle Clean Sheet 8/1 Stan James

Kevin Nolan & Andy Carroll to Both Score 16/1 Sky Bet
Florent Malouda & Didier Drogba to Both Score 6/1 Sky Bet

Half Time/Full Time Chelsea/Chelsea 15/8 Blue Square

Draw 2-2 18/1 Sky Bet

By John Fernandez

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