Chelsea 2-0 Newcastle
In the late kick off of the day Chelsea tried to reclaim their position at the top of the Premier League table and win a 3rd Premier League match inside a week. To do that however they'd have to defeat a Newcastle side that had beaten them in the same fixture last season.
The match started slowly with very little to talk about in the first 15 minutes or so as both teams battled it out in the middle of the park and limited each other to decent shooting opportunities. In fact many of the early shots from both teams blazed over the bar as neither team could fathom a decent half between them.
The came alive around the midway point of the first half with Newcastle launching an attack that earned them a corner, the first corner of the match. The corner it's self did little for Newcastle and Chelsea broke quickly before Fernando Torres was brought down in the penalty area by Vernun Anita. It was to be Chelsea's 3rd penalty in as many games, though with normal penalty taker Frank Lampard being rested the duty fell to Eden Hazard who calmly slotted in the spot kick and scored his first goal for Chelsea.
The opening goal saw the game open up slightly and gave the likes of Hazard and Torres more time on the ball. After being booked in the 39th minute for a dive Torres appeared to get angry and played like a man possessed. The Spaniard gave the Newcastle defenders a real headache before scoring a beautifully crafted goal as Hazard linked with him just before half time as the Blues doubled their lead.
In the second half Chelsea crafted yet more chances as Torres and Hazard ran the Newcastle defense ragged with the two men linking together time and time again, though Chelsea couldn't add to their lead.
Roberto Di Matteo will be a very happy man. Chelsea are sitting happy atop the Premier League table with a maximum of 9 points, they are looking like an ever improving team and looked genuinely sensational at times today. Fernando Torres looked like a man on a mission to prove that he was worth the astronomical transfer fee that Chelsea payed for him and his link up play with Eden Hazard was genuinely sensation as they two men seem to be able to read each others mind now. Hazard, for the 3rd game in a row looked great, he looks like he's getting better, though really it was the return of the Torres of old that stood out as he looked like he was having real fun out there. It's scary to think just how fun Chelsea will be to watch when the whole team is settled together.
Newcastle will need to lick their wounds here and admit they were simply beaten by a much better team. Whilst they did have the odd chance here and their they didn't deserve to take anything from this game as they were always second best. Pardew will know his team were out played and although he may blame the trip to Greece on Thursday he knows his team, at their best, would still have struggled with the side Chelsea put out. Despite the loss Hatem Ben Arfa was once outstanding and appears to be playing with confidence, a scary thought for the rest of the Premier League.
Showing posts with label Chelsea v Newcastle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chelsea v Newcastle. Show all posts
Saturday, 25 August 2012
Friday, 24 August 2012
Week 2-Predictions (Saturday)
My predictions for week one were simply awful. I got the right "outcome" just 4 times from the first 11 games (though I did get 3 of the most recent 4 games correct) and didn't get a single right result. So lets try again for week 2:
Swansea V West Ham (12:45 KO)
Saturday's early fixture is one of the two matches I've done a full preview of for Saturday as Swansea look to continue their impressive start to the season as they host West Ham. After defeating QPR 5-0 away from home it's easy to get over-exited about Swansea though with Michael Laudrup in charge expect the players to keep their feet on the ground and defeat a rather thin West Ham team who are likely to start with new signing Matt Jarvis on the bench. West Ham may have managed a 1-0 win over Aston Villa but hardly looked like they got going until the final 20 minutes or so in what was a bit of a stinker in all honesty.
Prediction 2-0 Swansea
Aston Villa V Everton
Aston Villa will go into the game hoping to put their 1-0 defeat at the hands of West Ham last weekend behind them whilst Everton will be looking to build on their surprise 1-0 victory over perennial title challengers Manchester United. The moods at the two teams could hardly be more different. For Villa last weekend must have been filled with genuine disappointment in not only losing but playing really badly against West Ham, whilst Everton, thanks to a man of the match performance by Marouane Fellaini dominated Manchester United. I have a feeling that momentum for both teams going into this game will play a big part in the match.
Prediction 1-0 Everton
Manchester Utd V Fulham
If Villa and Everton are clubs with polar opposite starts what about Manchester United and Fulham? United, as mentioned above, unexpectedly lost to Everton and looked very poor, especially at the back and in the middle, whilst Fulham got off to a flyer with a 5-0 victory over poor Norwich who were taken to the cleaners by Mladen Petric. With United getting back to Old Trafford I think we'll see their fortunes return to normal as they bag their first points of the season. Expect Robin Van Persie to start and United to look rather angry up front after being held to nil by Everton.
Prediction 3-0 Manchester United
Norwich V QPR
Whilst the two matches above saw teams starting in polar opposites, these two teams certainly started in the same way, in fact their start to the season was almost identical. With 10 goals in the opening day games featuring these two teams it's just a shame neither team managed to bag one themselves as both QPR and Norwich went down 5-0. Despite both teams getting laughably slaughtered QPR certainly looked the better team than Norwich and I'd fancy them, under the guidance of Mark Hughes to get at least a point here. Don't expect a goal fest but maybe a goal each.
Prediction 1-1
Southampton V Wigan
Southampton may have felt unfortunate for their first game back in the Premier League to have been against reigning champions Manchester City however they fought wonderfully well and were surprisingly in the lead at half time before going down 3-2. That game should have given them a lot of confidence to take into this match against a Wigan side who were all but losers after just 10 minutes against as the European Champions secured a 2-0 victory. Southampton will have little to fear here and I think they will show their confidence from the City game with a single goal win.
Prediction 1-0 Southampton
Sunderland V Reading
Both of these teams secured a point on the opening day of the season with the Blackcats unexpectedly holding Arsenal to the only goalless game of the season so far whilst Reading earned a late point against Stoke. Since then however Reading gave Chelsea a real test before losing to the relatively unfair scoreline of 4-2. Having both shown some fine form and excellent defensive traits so far it'd be stupid to expect much in the way of goals here however Sunderland at home last season did score goals.
Prediction 1-0 Sunderland
Tottenham Hotspur V West Brom
Tottenham started their season off with a 2-1 loss to Newcastle though for much of the game actually looked the better side, even if they were rather toothless. Since then they have re-signed Emmanuel Adebayor who really will help give the Spurs' attack some added impetus alongside Jermain Defoe. Prior to Spurs losing we had seen arguably the upset of the weekend as West Brom put Brendon Rodger's Liverpool team to the sword in an excellent 3-0 victory, a victory that will have filled the players with confidence and belief that they can hold their own with anyone. Sadly for the Baggies, Spurs will be out for blood.
Prediction 2-0 Tottenham
Chelsea V Newcastle (17:30)
The late kick off is the second game I've previewed for Saturday and like the days earlier kick off it features two unbeaten teams looking to keep their perfect winning records. The European Champions Chelsea will be having their 3rd game inside a week and despite taking 6 points so far they have looked a little bit out of sorts despite beating Wigan 2-0 and Reading 4-2. On paper they look like great results but in actuality the performances, on the whole, were poor with a dodgy decision helping them beat Reading. However Eden Hazard has been a sensation for Chelsea and will look to show his class once again. Newcastle, who played just a couple of days ago in Greece will be looking to build on their 2-1 victory over Spurs though this match will be much, much tougher for them against a Chelsea team with real attacking promise.
Prediction 2-1 Chelsea
All kicks offs 15:00 unless otherwise stated
Swansea V West Ham (12:45 KO)
Saturday's early fixture is one of the two matches I've done a full preview of for Saturday as Swansea look to continue their impressive start to the season as they host West Ham. After defeating QPR 5-0 away from home it's easy to get over-exited about Swansea though with Michael Laudrup in charge expect the players to keep their feet on the ground and defeat a rather thin West Ham team who are likely to start with new signing Matt Jarvis on the bench. West Ham may have managed a 1-0 win over Aston Villa but hardly looked like they got going until the final 20 minutes or so in what was a bit of a stinker in all honesty.
Prediction 2-0 Swansea
Aston Villa V Everton
Aston Villa will go into the game hoping to put their 1-0 defeat at the hands of West Ham last weekend behind them whilst Everton will be looking to build on their surprise 1-0 victory over perennial title challengers Manchester United. The moods at the two teams could hardly be more different. For Villa last weekend must have been filled with genuine disappointment in not only losing but playing really badly against West Ham, whilst Everton, thanks to a man of the match performance by Marouane Fellaini dominated Manchester United. I have a feeling that momentum for both teams going into this game will play a big part in the match.
Prediction 1-0 Everton
Manchester Utd V Fulham
If Villa and Everton are clubs with polar opposite starts what about Manchester United and Fulham? United, as mentioned above, unexpectedly lost to Everton and looked very poor, especially at the back and in the middle, whilst Fulham got off to a flyer with a 5-0 victory over poor Norwich who were taken to the cleaners by Mladen Petric. With United getting back to Old Trafford I think we'll see their fortunes return to normal as they bag their first points of the season. Expect Robin Van Persie to start and United to look rather angry up front after being held to nil by Everton.
Prediction 3-0 Manchester United
Norwich V QPR
Whilst the two matches above saw teams starting in polar opposites, these two teams certainly started in the same way, in fact their start to the season was almost identical. With 10 goals in the opening day games featuring these two teams it's just a shame neither team managed to bag one themselves as both QPR and Norwich went down 5-0. Despite both teams getting laughably slaughtered QPR certainly looked the better team than Norwich and I'd fancy them, under the guidance of Mark Hughes to get at least a point here. Don't expect a goal fest but maybe a goal each.
Prediction 1-1
Southampton V Wigan
Southampton may have felt unfortunate for their first game back in the Premier League to have been against reigning champions Manchester City however they fought wonderfully well and were surprisingly in the lead at half time before going down 3-2. That game should have given them a lot of confidence to take into this match against a Wigan side who were all but losers after just 10 minutes against as the European Champions secured a 2-0 victory. Southampton will have little to fear here and I think they will show their confidence from the City game with a single goal win.
Prediction 1-0 Southampton
Sunderland V Reading
Both of these teams secured a point on the opening day of the season with the Blackcats unexpectedly holding Arsenal to the only goalless game of the season so far whilst Reading earned a late point against Stoke. Since then however Reading gave Chelsea a real test before losing to the relatively unfair scoreline of 4-2. Having both shown some fine form and excellent defensive traits so far it'd be stupid to expect much in the way of goals here however Sunderland at home last season did score goals.
Prediction 1-0 Sunderland
Tottenham Hotspur V West Brom
Tottenham started their season off with a 2-1 loss to Newcastle though for much of the game actually looked the better side, even if they were rather toothless. Since then they have re-signed Emmanuel Adebayor who really will help give the Spurs' attack some added impetus alongside Jermain Defoe. Prior to Spurs losing we had seen arguably the upset of the weekend as West Brom put Brendon Rodger's Liverpool team to the sword in an excellent 3-0 victory, a victory that will have filled the players with confidence and belief that they can hold their own with anyone. Sadly for the Baggies, Spurs will be out for blood.
Prediction 2-0 Tottenham
Chelsea V Newcastle (17:30)
The late kick off is the second game I've previewed for Saturday and like the days earlier kick off it features two unbeaten teams looking to keep their perfect winning records. The European Champions Chelsea will be having their 3rd game inside a week and despite taking 6 points so far they have looked a little bit out of sorts despite beating Wigan 2-0 and Reading 4-2. On paper they look like great results but in actuality the performances, on the whole, were poor with a dodgy decision helping them beat Reading. However Eden Hazard has been a sensation for Chelsea and will look to show his class once again. Newcastle, who played just a couple of days ago in Greece will be looking to build on their 2-1 victory over Spurs though this match will be much, much tougher for them against a Chelsea team with real attacking promise.
Prediction 2-1 Chelsea
All kicks offs 15:00 unless otherwise stated
Premier League Week 2-Preview and prediction (Chelsea v Newcastle)
The late kick-off on Saturday promises to be a treat to all football fans as the European Champions Chelsea play their 3rd game inside a week to take on the very promising Newcastle United, who interestingly finished above Chelsea last season. Both teams have made solid starts to the season and both teams currently posses unbeaten records though which team will come out on top on Saturday?
Chelsea kicked off their season almost 2 weeks ago in a losing effort against Manchester City in the Community Shield, though started their league season a day later than most with their opening Premier League fixture taking place last Sunday as they took home 3 points following a 2-0 win against Wigan at the DW Stadium. Chelsea moved to the top of the table on Wednesday in the first midweek game of the season as they scraped past Reading by the very flattering scoreline of 4-2.
Despite being top of the league with 6 points from 2 games Chelsea haven't looked sensational, in fact they've looked rather flat for large portions of their 2 matches with only new signing Eden Hazard and Branislav Ivanovic really looking threatening. Fernando Torres has looked off colour, Juan Mata appears to have completely forgotten his shooting boots and Frank Lampard has only looked like scoring from the penalty spot (which luckily for him he's had 2 chances from). Whilst they haven't been great they've been bagging the points and at the end of the day that's what matters.
Roberto Di Matteo will be wanting much more from his players here than he's seen from them so far this season and he'll be expecting them to step up a gear against a Newcastle team who will be looking to repeat last season's successes. With 2 goals conceded against Reading he'll worry just as much about their defense as attack, especially John Terry who looked off the pace against Jobi McAnuff in midweek. If they can tighten at the back and play from the defense they should just about nick this, but that hasn't been Chelsea's way in recent seasons as they've instead played attacking football often at the expense of defensive stability.
Like Chelsea, Newcastle have gotten off to a perfect start with a maximum 3 points from their opening game, a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. Also like Chelsea, Newcastle didn't really perform against Spurs, in fact it's probably fair to say that Newcastle were the lesser team though they took their chances and secured the points.
Under Alan Pardew Newcastle have become a real threat to the Champions League places and will be looking to improve up on last season's 5th place. Sadly for them their 5th place finish last year may come back to haunt them here with the team having played in Athens on Thursday to face Atromitos in the Europa League. Having traveled to Greece and back in the past few days the players have really not been given a rest and they may very well look exhausted on Saturday. Added to the exhaustion of 2 games in 3 days they will also be with out 4 key players (Fabricio Coloccini, Demba Ba, Cheick Tiote and Shola Ameobi) who will all undergo late fitness tests.
Though the Magpies may have a number of fitness issues they have the a solid team and a manager who has them well drilled. Many of the players will also have memories of the same fixture last season, a match that Newcastle won 2-0 thanks to a brace by Papiss Cisse. In fact interestingly Newcastle's form at Stamford Bridge in recent years has been genuinely excellent with 2 wins and 2 draws in their last 4 games there.
Whilst Chelsea go in as a deserving favourite (4/7) they will know they are in for a game. It's, like I said earlier, their 3rd game inside a week and they are having a number of fitness issues themselves, including John Terry and new signing Marko Marin. With David Luiz expected to fill in for Terry, Newcastle may well see the opportunity to bag a goal or two for themselves. Sadly for the Newcastle fans Chelsea have a lot of quality up front and will likely fancy their chances to score more than they concede. I expect this will see both teams scoring, though Chelsea will likely grab a very hard fought win.
Prediction-2-1 Chelsea
Kick Off-17:30
Expected Line Ups:
Chelsea-
Cech, Cole, Ivanovic, Luis, Cahill, Lampard, Mikel, Ramires, Hazard, Mata, Torres (4-3-2-1)
Newcastle-
Krul, Simpson, Perch, S Taylor, Santon, Ben Arfa, Tiote, Cabaye, Gutierrez, Ba, Cisse (4-4-2)
Notes-Dependent on results earlier in the day, Chelsea could start this match top of the Premier League thanks it being their 3rd league game inside a week.
Newcastle's 1-1 draw with Atromitos on Thursday has caused them to play 2 games in 3 days having had to travel to Greece and back since their last Premier League fixture.
Surprisingly Newcastle defeated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the league last season whilst Chelsea managed to defeat Newcastle at St James' Park.
Chelsea have scored a penalty in every Premier League game, in fact Lampard has scored a penalty in Chelsea's 2 Premier League games so far due to fouls on Eden Hazard and Branislav Ivanovic has also scored in every Chelsea Premier League game so far.
Every Premier League game featuring one of these two teams has had a penalty.
Players to watch-
Chelsea:
Eden Hazard-The Belgian has been pretty much the key to all of Chelsea's attacks so far this season and he may well be looking to pull the strings once again against a Newcastle defense who, whilst sturdy are nothing spectacular at the back, especially not if Coloccini is absent. Whilst he's yet to score in the Premier League he has created many of Chelsea's chances and also been the player taken out for Chelsea's two penalties so far.
Fernando Torres-It's only a matter of time before Torres gets back to regular goal scoring and whilst he did score against Reading in midweek he didn't look himself and he did need a helping hand from a poor decision by a linesman. It seems to be a confidence thing and hopefully the goal on Wednesday will help him regain.
Newcastle:
Hatem Ben Arfa-Attacking Midfielder Ben Arfa is one of the stand out players in the Newcastle squad and can do it all. If he gets on the ball expect the Chelsea defense, especially David Luiz, to make mistakes. Able to shoot, dribble and pass excellently he's a true threat both with his own shots and with his creative passing which could help open up the Chelsea defense at any time.
Tim Krul-This may seem like a weird choice but the Newcastle goalkeeper certainly appears to be one of the players that will need watching here. I expect he will be tested more than just once or twice and he will need to put on an excellent performance if Newcastle are going to get anything from the match.
Chelsea kicked off their season almost 2 weeks ago in a losing effort against Manchester City in the Community Shield, though started their league season a day later than most with their opening Premier League fixture taking place last Sunday as they took home 3 points following a 2-0 win against Wigan at the DW Stadium. Chelsea moved to the top of the table on Wednesday in the first midweek game of the season as they scraped past Reading by the very flattering scoreline of 4-2.
Despite being top of the league with 6 points from 2 games Chelsea haven't looked sensational, in fact they've looked rather flat for large portions of their 2 matches with only new signing Eden Hazard and Branislav Ivanovic really looking threatening. Fernando Torres has looked off colour, Juan Mata appears to have completely forgotten his shooting boots and Frank Lampard has only looked like scoring from the penalty spot (which luckily for him he's had 2 chances from). Whilst they haven't been great they've been bagging the points and at the end of the day that's what matters.
Roberto Di Matteo will be wanting much more from his players here than he's seen from them so far this season and he'll be expecting them to step up a gear against a Newcastle team who will be looking to repeat last season's successes. With 2 goals conceded against Reading he'll worry just as much about their defense as attack, especially John Terry who looked off the pace against Jobi McAnuff in midweek. If they can tighten at the back and play from the defense they should just about nick this, but that hasn't been Chelsea's way in recent seasons as they've instead played attacking football often at the expense of defensive stability.
Like Chelsea, Newcastle have gotten off to a perfect start with a maximum 3 points from their opening game, a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. Also like Chelsea, Newcastle didn't really perform against Spurs, in fact it's probably fair to say that Newcastle were the lesser team though they took their chances and secured the points.
Under Alan Pardew Newcastle have become a real threat to the Champions League places and will be looking to improve up on last season's 5th place. Sadly for them their 5th place finish last year may come back to haunt them here with the team having played in Athens on Thursday to face Atromitos in the Europa League. Having traveled to Greece and back in the past few days the players have really not been given a rest and they may very well look exhausted on Saturday. Added to the exhaustion of 2 games in 3 days they will also be with out 4 key players (Fabricio Coloccini, Demba Ba, Cheick Tiote and Shola Ameobi) who will all undergo late fitness tests.
Though the Magpies may have a number of fitness issues they have the a solid team and a manager who has them well drilled. Many of the players will also have memories of the same fixture last season, a match that Newcastle won 2-0 thanks to a brace by Papiss Cisse. In fact interestingly Newcastle's form at Stamford Bridge in recent years has been genuinely excellent with 2 wins and 2 draws in their last 4 games there.
Whilst Chelsea go in as a deserving favourite (4/7) they will know they are in for a game. It's, like I said earlier, their 3rd game inside a week and they are having a number of fitness issues themselves, including John Terry and new signing Marko Marin. With David Luiz expected to fill in for Terry, Newcastle may well see the opportunity to bag a goal or two for themselves. Sadly for the Newcastle fans Chelsea have a lot of quality up front and will likely fancy their chances to score more than they concede. I expect this will see both teams scoring, though Chelsea will likely grab a very hard fought win.
Prediction-2-1 Chelsea
Kick Off-17:30
Expected Line Ups:
Chelsea-
Cech, Cole, Ivanovic, Luis, Cahill, Lampard, Mikel, Ramires, Hazard, Mata, Torres (4-3-2-1)
Newcastle-
Krul, Simpson, Perch, S Taylor, Santon, Ben Arfa, Tiote, Cabaye, Gutierrez, Ba, Cisse (4-4-2)
Notes-Dependent on results earlier in the day, Chelsea could start this match top of the Premier League thanks it being their 3rd league game inside a week.
Newcastle's 1-1 draw with Atromitos on Thursday has caused them to play 2 games in 3 days having had to travel to Greece and back since their last Premier League fixture.
Surprisingly Newcastle defeated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the league last season whilst Chelsea managed to defeat Newcastle at St James' Park.
Chelsea have scored a penalty in every Premier League game, in fact Lampard has scored a penalty in Chelsea's 2 Premier League games so far due to fouls on Eden Hazard and Branislav Ivanovic has also scored in every Chelsea Premier League game so far.
Every Premier League game featuring one of these two teams has had a penalty.
Players to watch-
Chelsea:
Eden Hazard-The Belgian has been pretty much the key to all of Chelsea's attacks so far this season and he may well be looking to pull the strings once again against a Newcastle defense who, whilst sturdy are nothing spectacular at the back, especially not if Coloccini is absent. Whilst he's yet to score in the Premier League he has created many of Chelsea's chances and also been the player taken out for Chelsea's two penalties so far.
Fernando Torres-It's only a matter of time before Torres gets back to regular goal scoring and whilst he did score against Reading in midweek he didn't look himself and he did need a helping hand from a poor decision by a linesman. It seems to be a confidence thing and hopefully the goal on Wednesday will help him regain.
Newcastle:
Hatem Ben Arfa-Attacking Midfielder Ben Arfa is one of the stand out players in the Newcastle squad and can do it all. If he gets on the ball expect the Chelsea defense, especially David Luiz, to make mistakes. Able to shoot, dribble and pass excellently he's a true threat both with his own shots and with his creative passing which could help open up the Chelsea defense at any time.
Tim Krul-This may seem like a weird choice but the Newcastle goalkeeper certainly appears to be one of the players that will need watching here. I expect he will be tested more than just once or twice and he will need to put on an excellent performance if Newcastle are going to get anything from the match.
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