Magpies in London

Sam Allardyce's men are having a poor run in the Premier League and they will try to take advantage of the injury-hit Chelsea at the Bridge, not that their task will be easy. The easiest job of Avram Grant on Saturday would be to pick a squad for the match.

After the drama on boxing day, nothing less than three points would be enough for the Blues. With Cole's appeal rejected, both he and Carvalho will miss the match, along with the injured players. But there are positives also for Chelsea to take from the previous match. The form of Shevchenko, the superb return of Ballack and more importantly, the spirit shown by the team to fight back from a difficult position. Looking at some statistics, Chelsea have won all their last 7 matches against the Mags, scored 18 goals in total, and kept clean sheet in all 7 matches. Grant's Chelsea, unbeaten in 42 matches under him, would look to underline these statistics with their performance on Saturday.


The Magpies will be boosted by the return of striker Michael Owen, who has been out of the side for nearly six weeks.It remains to be seen if Martins and Viduka prove too hot to handle for Ben Haim and Alex. Some fans doubt the quality of the Israeli and this is a golden opportunity for him to show some character. Its also not clear whether Cech will play tomorrow's game. If Makalele is back from injury, I think he would be named in the squad along with Sinclair and Sidwell. I hope Chelsea would continue their unbeaten run at the Bridge and make it 73 matches in a row, by winning rather than a mere draw.

Guess at the squad:
Cech
Belleti, Alex, BenHaim, Bridge
Essien, Ballack, Mikel
J.Cole, Shevchenko, Kalou

Subs: Hilario, Sidwell, Sinclair, Ferreira, Pizzaro

Recent Form:
Chelsea: WDLWWD
Newcastle: WDWWDL

TV Timing: 2025(IST) Star Sports

Scoreline prediction: 2-0