Chelsea vs Newcastle United. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats, and more

Chelsea FC will host Newcastle United FC in the English Football League Cup quarter final match at the Stamford Bridge Stadium. The fixture will take place on Wednesday, December 20, beginning at 01:30 IST.

Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

Chelsea News & Current Form: 

Nothing is seriously changing at Chelsea this season – the team loses to Nottingham Forest FC or Brentford FC, then takes points away from Manchester City (4:4) and beats Tottenham Hotspur FC, playing as if on a swing. The longest successful series of the Blues – three wins in a row, but also they have not had more than three losses of points in a row this season.

Over the last five rounds, the team of Mauricio Pochettino lost three times, including to Newcastle (1:4). There were still defeats from Manchester United FC (1:2) and from Everton FC (0:2), and in the other two matches managed to take the upper hand over Brighton & Hove Albion FC with a score of 3:2 and over Sheffield United FC – 2:0.

Before the game of the 16th round of the EPL against the outsider Chelsea were in 12th place in the standings. For such a team, which five years ago was considered one of the formidable forces in England and Europe, such a result seems like a nightmare. 

One way or another, the advantage of the Aristocrats was absolute in the course of the match, although with the ball possession of 78 percent, it resulted in not a very large number of shots on goal (only 10 for Chelsea against 2 for Sheffield).

Formally the outcome of the match was decided only in the second half: Cole Palmer opened the scoring in the 54th minute and put the Blues ahead, and 7 minutes later he made a scoring pass to Nicolas Jackson. There could have been goals for the Blades, and Cameron Archer also had a couple of shots trying to deprive Djordje Petrovic of the match without conceding a goal. 

And yet the final score was 2:0 in favor of Chelsea: the victory over not the strongest opponent brings Pochettino three more points and gives hope to return to the former power. The team rises to 10th place in the standings with 22 points. Statistically speaking, the Aristocrats have only won six times, drawn four times and lost seven times, as well as striking 28 times and conceding 22 times.

Worsening the already dismal situation of the Londoners is the fact that a number of leading players are in the infirmary, in particular Reece James. It is reported that the captain of the team may miss three months due to a recurrence of a hamstring injury. 

Chelsea FC top scorers Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson

Also became known the degree of seriousness of the injury of Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella. Earlier it became known that the 25-year-old footballer suffered a foot injury. Reportedly, he is out until February. In the coming days, the athlete will undergo additional examinations to finalize the rehabilitation plan.

Many of Pochettino’s remaining back-up players are in poor form. Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk are still of little use. The Ukrainian had a good stretch in October, but then everything went back to normal. In the last seven meetings in the EPL, he had only one assist, and the midfielder was named the worst player of the match against Sheffield United.

One of the few who is really good and fully justifies the money spent on the transfer is Cole Palmer, acquired from Manchester City in the summer. In 17 games in all official tournaments with the Blues, he scored six goals and gave five assists.

Speaking of the Carabao Cup, Chelsea started the cup with a 1/32 final. At this stage, Pochettino’s team at Stamford Bridge faced AFC Wimbledon, who are three divisions below them in League Two. The visitors opened the scoring, but goals from Noni Madueke from the penalty spot and Enzo Fernandez gave the Aristocrats a 2:1 victory.

Next, the Blues again played Brighton at home and minimally defeated the Seagulls thanks to Jackson’s goal. In the 1/8 finals, the lot chose a weaker opponent to oppose the Londoners, this time the team from the Championship – Blackburn Rovers FC. And again at Stamford Bridge, Pochettino’s team took the upper hand 2:0, with Benoit Badiashile and Raheem Sterling scoring.

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Newcastle United News & Current Form: 

Newcastle are also having a hard time, primarily because of personnel problems. In addition to the long suspension of Sandro Tonali, on whom the Magpies certainly counted as the main midfielder, acquiring him in the summer, the club from the north of England for the second time this season lost another midfield player, Joe Willock, as well as the main goalkeeper, Nick Pope, due to injury.

The goalkeeper, who has bailed out the club from Newcastle-upon-Tyne on a number of occasions, suffered the injury in their EPL round 14 meeting with Manchester United. Howe suggested that Pope will need surgery, according to preliminary information, the player is out for four to five months.

In the last four matches, the goal was defended by Martin Dubravka, who used to be the main goalkeeper of Newcastle, but then Pope arrived in the team and forced him out of the squad. 

By the way, just because of the goalkeeper’s injury, the charges of Eddie Howe lost three matches in a row, conceding a total of nine goals in them – including 1:2 at home to AC Milan, dropping out of the long-awaited UEFA Champions League.

Howe’s side were leading 1:0 after the first half thanks to a goal from Joelinton: if PSG had also lost to Borussia Dortmund in the parallel match, the English side would have jumped into the last eight of the Champions League. 

However, Milan equalized in the second half thanks to a strike from Christian Pulisic, and then after a series of sharp attacks, Samuel Chukwueze scored on 84 minutes through Noah Okafor. The team could only muster five points from their six group matches, picking up one win to finish in last place in the standings. 

Lewis Miley became the youngest player in the history of Premier League and Newcastle to score

There were also defeats in the Premier League from Everton (0:3) and Tottenham (1:4), but this weekend they managed to beat Fulham FC (3:0). This became the seventh consecutive victory in the EPL at their stadium. The club suffered its last home defeat in the championship on August 27 in a match with Liverpool FC (1:2). 

Since then, Newcastle have won at home against Brentford (1:0), Burnley FC (2:0), Crystal Palace FC (4:0), Arsenal FC (1:0), Chelsea (4:1) and Manchester United (1:0). This is the longest home winning streak in the top division for the club since January 2003. At that time, the club was playing under Sir Bobby Robson.

In addition, 17-year-old Lewis Miley opened the scoring in the 57th minute. He became the youngest EPL goal scorer in Newcastle’s history, scoring at the age of 17 years and 229 days.

He also became the youngest EPL goal scorer since 2009. Then Federico Macheda scored a goal for Manchester United at the age of 17 years and 226 days. Now the team is on the sixth line in the standings with 29 points. The Black and Whites have managed to score 36 goals against their opponents, but have conceded 21 times.

As for the path in the cup, the Magpies started not from the 1/32 final like Chelsea, but from 1/16. Nevertheless, the blind lot immediately determined the opponents of Eddie Howe’s team no other than the strongest club in England, Manchester City. But Newcastle are not an easy rival either, and at home St. James Park defeated the formidable team of Pep Guardiola 1:0 – Alexander Isak scored. 

In the next round, Howe’s side faced another club from Manchester, reigning Emirates FA Cup winners Manchester United. At Old Trafford Newcastle took a convincing revenge for that defeat – goals from Miguel Almiron, Lewis Hall and Willock brought the club a 3:0 victory.

Last season, by the way, the Magpies reached the final of this competition, which they lost to the Red Devils. For Newcastle it was the first final of any tournament after the FA Cup of the season-1998/1999, where they lost again to MU.

As for injuries, Sean Longstaff, Sven Botman and Callum Wilson have recovered, but they have not yet regained their optimum form after long absences. Against this backdrop, injuries to Isak, Fabian Schar and Joelinton will only make matters worse. The absence of the latter, who is responsible for power and athleticism in the center of the field, will affect the result most of all. Kieran Trippier will also miss the game due to injury.

Chelsea form guide: D-L-W-L-L-W

Newcastle United form guide: D-W-L-L-L-W

Chelsea vs Newcastle United Head-To-Head Record:

• March 13, 2022: Chelsea 1 – 0 Newcastle United (Premier League);
• November 12, 2022: Newcastle United 1 – 0 Chelsea (Premier League);
• May 28, 2023: Chelsea 1 – 1 Newcastle United (Premier League);
• November 25, 2023: Newcastle United 4 – 1 Chelsea (Premier League).

Chelsea vs Newcastle United Predicted XI:

Chelsea’s possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Badiashile, Maatsen; Caicedo, Fernandez; Sterling, Gallagher, Palmer; Broja.

Newcastle United’s possible starting lineup (4-3-3): Dubravka; Krafth, Lascelles, Botman, Burn; Miley, Guimaraes, Longstaff; Ritchie, Wilson, Almiron.

Statistical preview of the match Chelsea vs Newcastle United:

• Chelsea’s First XI average age is 24.3 years, Newcastle’s First XI average age is 28.5 years.
• Jarred Gillett has been appointed as the center referee. The referee has already served 11 games this season, showing an average of 4.82 Yellow Cards and also whistles 21 fouls per game. 
• The total value of Chelsea’s squad is 99 mln euros, while the total of United comes up to 650 mln euros.
• Chelsea have scored at least two goals at home in seven of their 12 matches this season. 
• Newcastle have allowed their opponents to score first in seven of their 12 away matches of the season.
• At least one team has failed to score in 90 minutes of play in seven of Chelsea’s previous eight matches in this competition.
• In the last 12 matches in the English League Cup, the Londoners have lost only once in regulation time (7 wins and 4 draws).
• On their home field in this tournament Chelsea have a 7-match unbeaten streak in regulation time (5 wins and 2 draws).
• In the last 10 matches in this tournament, Newcastle lost only 1 time in regulation time (7 wins and 2 draws).
• At least one team has not scored in 90 minutes of play in 7 of the 8 previous matches of Newcastle in the English League Cup.
• On the road Newcastle have a 3-match winning streak in this tournament.
• At home this season, Chelsea are averaging 6.25 corner kicks per game, while Newcastle are averaging just 3.25 corners per game. 
• Chelsea are averaging 5.5 yellow cards in home games this season, while Newcastle’s away games are averaging 5.08. 

What has been said before the match:

Gaffer of the Blues Mauricio Pochettino about the importance of Carabao Cup for both teams:

“For Newcastle it’s an important competition. For us, from the beginning of the season, it was one of our objectives and it is still one of our objectives. It is an important game tomorrow and we want to go through but we know we are going to face a very good team, a Champions League team, and it’s going to be tough.”

“It’s really important. We want to go through to the semi-final and win the competition. Our priority is to go through. Of course, Newcastle is a really good team, with good players and great coaches. It is going to be tough.”

“It means more to the people than to us. It means a lot because we want to deliver the trophy for our club, for the fans and of course the players want to deliver this trophy. To lift a trophy is important because always the most important thing is to win.”

“Tomorrow we need to be ready to fight because it can give us the possibility to be closer to a trophy. That’s why we need to fight, we need to be aggressive. We have to follow the last game in the way that we behaved and approached the game. Improving the way we play but keeping the same mentality and the same capacity to fight for every single ball.”

Eddie Howe, head coach of Newcastle United, about his team’s determination to go further in the Cup:

“The two draws we had previously in this cup, they are as difficult as you can get. The beauty of those two games we have had has shown we can raise our game against top teams in this competition. We are determined to progress and create more memories. We know how difficult it will be, but we know the prize on offer.”

“Chelsea are dangerous opponents for us – a very good team with a very good manager. Both teams will be equally motivated to do well. We will pick a team that will give us the best chance of winning. We desperately want to win.”

Chelsea vs Newcastle United Prediction:

Chelsea have been extremely unstable in the 23/24 season so far, just like in the past campaign. However, what cannot be taken away from them is the fiery battles filled with a plethora of goals and go-getting football. A prime example of this is the match against the formidable Man City, where the Aristocrats managed to bag 4 goals, something almost no one else has ever done. The only problem is that the Pensioners fail to maintain any positive trend, hence the frequent defeats to mid-table teams (like Brentford, Everton; both games ended 2-0).

The Magpies, on the whole, show a more coherent and sensible game, Eddie Howe has managed to instill a distinctive style, which, coupled with the acquired players, gives them ambitions to seriously contend for the top-4. Yet, there are several nuances: firstly, the Black and Whites are currently experiencing a slump, emphasized by a painful Champions League elimination. Secondly, a lot of key players are unavailable before the match due to the injuries (the same is true for Chelsea). Thirdly, there is a huge problem with goalscoring: the vanguard of the attack, Alexander Isak, is still unable to regain his form after injury, the rest cannot find their way to efficiency as well: only 1.16 goals scored on average per 90 minutes considering the distance of the last 6 matches. At the same time, the xG/actual goals ratio, which is 34.8 to 36 after 17 EPL games, points to an underperformance, in comparison, Aston Villa managed to squeeze as many as 40 goals from an xG of 32.2.

In favor of the visitors there are several facts: the Magpies have already managed to knock Man City out of the tournament, some sort of statement as the Citizens claimed a trophy 4 times in the last 6 editions of the competition. Plus, taking into account the upsetting UCL exit, Eddie Howe and co. will want to make up for it by adding silverware to the cabinet, albeit not that prestigious. Skill and experience as well as chemistry can help at Stamford Bridge. Plus, let’s not forget the history of head-to-head meetings: the Blues can’t beat the Magpies for the last four matches in a row, including a friendly, and the last match ended in a 4-1 thrashing, which gives a lot of confidence.

Chelsea are likely to play more open football, taking advantage of the support of the home stands. Newcastle’s away match statistics are very handy for them: 0.63 points per match on average, a figure that matches the relegation-threatened Burnley. Nevertheless, the Black and Whites’ fast-footed attacking players only need a few counterattacks to get a result and then competently dry up the game. On average, Mauricio Pochettino’s men concede a lot, 1.52 per game in the EPL (for comparison, mid-table regulars Crystal Palace concede 1.47 per 90 minutes). The League Cup provides an action-minded nature of the games, and to parl Man Utd style ‘buses’ there seems out of place. Moreover, there are a lot of losses in the defensive line of both teams, which, in conclusion, gives us a carte blanche to expect a high scoring match, where the teams will exchange goals.

Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: both teams will score and the match total will be over 2.5 – Yes.

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