Newcastle Set to Compound Chelsea’s Woes

With two straight loses in the Premier League and dumped out of the League Cup on Wednesday, Chelsea’s woes may be compounded as they visit in-form Newcastle at St. James’ Park in one of today’s league fixtures 

Chelsea will be bidding to bounce back from successive Premier League defeats when they travel to an in-form Newcastle United side in today’s late start.

A four-game winless run in the league has seen the Blues drop down into seventh spot in the table, but Newcastle are up in third, with the Magpies picking up 27 points from their opening 14 matches.

Newcastle will certainly be expecting to challenge for the biggest prizes in European football in the not-too-distant future, with their recent takeover making them one of the wealthiest clubs on the planet, but not too many would have predicted how well they would start this season.

Indeed, a record of seven wins, six draws and one defeat has seen Eddie Howe’s side collect 27 points from their 14 Premier League games, which has left them in third position in the table.

Newcastle are one point ahead of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and four clear of fifth-placed Manchester United, albeit with the Red Devils having a game in hand.

It is perhaps still too early to discuss Howe’s side as possible top-four contenders, but they have now won each of their last five matches in all competitions, including their last four in the league, scoring eight times in their recent victories over Aston Villa and Southampton.

The Magpies have also managed to progress to the fourth round of the EFL Cup, beating fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace on penalties following a goalless draw at St James’ Park on Wednesday night.

Chelsea, meanwhile, were also in EFL Cup action on Wednesday evening, suffering a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City to exit the competition in the third round.

Graham Potter has managed to lead the Blues into the knockout round of the Champions League, with the capital giants finishing top of Group E ahead of AC Milan, boasting a record of 13 points from six matches.

However, Chelsea’s recent league form has been disappointing, picking up just two points from their last four matches, losing their last two against Brighton & Hove Albion and Arsenal.

The four-game winless run has seen the capital giants slide down into seventh position in the table, six points behind Newcastle ahead of this match, although they have a game in hand on Howe’s side, and a victory this weekend would still leave them in a relatively good position heading into the break.

Chelsea have won each of their last four Premier League games against Newcastle, including a 3-0 victory at St James’ Park last October, but it would be fair to say that the Magpies are a completely different side at this moment in time, and it is sure to be a tough examination for the six-time English champions.

Meanwhile, Arsenal will look to ensure that they will enter the World Cup break at the top of the Premier League table when they meet Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux today.

The two sides endured contrasting fortunes in the EFL Cup in midweek, with the hosts overcoming Leeds United, while the Gunners went out at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion.

One final chance for Steve Davis to strut his stuff on the Molineux touchline will present itself against the league leaders, as the Wolves coach prepares to step aside for Julen Lopetegui after the World Cup, and his penultimate match in charge was a joyful affair.

After 85 goalless minutes against Leeds United, midfield man Boubacar Traore came up with a stellar strike from outside the box to send Wolves through to the fourth round courtesy of a 1-0 success, but their most recent game in the top flight ended in a painful 3-2 loss to Brighton with 10 men.

It will certainly come as a relief for Wolves fans to see goals flying in from other areas rather than just Ruben Neves’ penalties or long-range stunners, but the hosts’ predicament in the table is still a highly precarious one, as they lie 19th in the rankings and three points adrift of safety.

Davis’s side could lift themselves above the dotted line if things go in their favour this weekend, and they can take some encouragement in the fact that both of their top-flight wins this season have come at Molineux, but they are now without victory in four straight Premier League games.

Conceding at least three goals in three of their last four Premier League home matches is hardly a reassuring statistic either, and Wolves will hope that Arsenal’s momentum has just been taken down a notch after a rare domestic defeat in midweek.

On an evening to forget for Arsenal debutant, Karl Hein, the Estonia international made his first-team debut for the Gunners in Wednesday’s EFL Cup clash with Brighton, where his key contribution was to give away a penalty in a 3-1 home defeat.

After Eddie Nketiah gave Arsenal the lead against the run of play, Hein tripped Danny Welbeck in the area before the ex-Arsenal man converted from the spot, and Karou Mitoma and Tariq Lamptey sealed a memorable win for the Seagulls in the second half.

Going out of the EFL Cup early may be a blessing in disguise for Mikel Arteta, whose team selection certainly showed that he is a man with bigger fish to fry this season, and he witnessed his crop of first-teamers nullify Chelsea in a deserved 1-0 London Derby win last week – one which keeps them two clear of Manchester City at the summit.

There is always talk of the importance of being top of the league at Christmas, which will not carry as much weight this term given the imminent World Cup break, but entering the festive period as league leaders will no doubt be of major psychological benefit to the Gunners, even if they have not gone on to win the league in that scenario since 1948.

Arteta’s side have now won six and drawn one of their last seven Premier League games, and while the five points that they have dropped this season have come away from home, four goals conceded on the road is still the best defensive record of its kind in the division.

Not everyone took kindly to Arsenal’s celebrations when they won 1-0 at Molineux last term, but the pandemonium was in full swing when the Gunners claimed a late 2-1 triumph at the Emirates just two weeks later, and the visitors are aiming to score against Wolves for the 30th match in a row this weekend.