Predictions for Chelsea vs. Newcastle: Blues find a way past the bus

Chelsea welcome Rafael Benitez back to Stamford Bridge which a game that will test Sarrismo more than it should. Can they find their way around the black-and-white striped bus?

Newcastle are in such a spot of trouble that our colleague Travis Tyler referred to them as a “corpse” in his “Talking Tactics” column, and a Newcastle fan gave his unreserved agreement in the comments. Still, there is a certain amount of optimism required to confidently predict a Chelsea win.

Barrett Rouen: Chelsea 2 – 1 Newcastle. Chelsea are simply a better team than Newcastle, even though the Blues aren’t exactly good, either. I still don’t know if Chelsea will make the top four, but this won’t be the game that sets them further off course. Eden Hazard to score and maybe Callum Hudson-Odoi as well. David Luiz will make a defensive mistake that actually gets Andreas Christensen into the squad more often.

Kevin Peacock: 3 – 0. Despite struggling to score in recent weeks, Chelsea actually do have goals in their team. Some poor helpless team will one day be on the end of a hammering. That team could be Newcastle United. I say that without much conviction, but you never know.

Maurizio Sarri has tightened up the defence but slackened off the attack. A recalibration of those two could make all the difference. Eden Hazard, Olivier Giroud and N’golo Kante score the goals in a comfortable win.

Gabe Henderson: 2 – 0. Chelsea’s attack has been atrocious lately. I don’t see it getting much better anytime soon. The Blues played very well against Spurs and deserved more, but they failed to score in the end. Expect another lifeless attack as Chelsea struggle to grab three points again. Luckily, the Blues’ talent will see them skate by.

Scott Brant: 2 – 0. With Newcastle United winless in their last five attempts, I expect even the struggling Blues to handle them easily. Or as easy as a Sarri-era Chelsea can handle a team. N’Golo Kante and Alvaro Morata to score for three points well deserved. As a result, everyone overlooks how this team aren’t good enough to finish top-four without any acquisitions in the current transfer window.

Nate Hofmann: 2 – 0. With the transfer market in full swing and Marina Granovskaia wheeling and dealing, Chelsea are much more interesting in the pages of the Daily Mail than they are on the pitch. Newcastle have been similarly underwhelming lately, but with the added malaise that comes from Mike Ashley’s borderline-criminal mismanagement of the club. Chelsea can at least look to the future with some optimism, while the Magpies continue to tread water in purgatory.

In a match between two struggling sides, I’ll give the edge to the one with an iota of hope. Hazard and Kante to score, Jonjo Shelvey with a straight red.

Tan Yi Hao: 2 – 0. Following Chelsea’s undeserved midweek semifinal loss to Spurs, this game is about how the players react to such a disappointment. Considering Chelsea’s history of being able to bounce back positively in response to disapponting results, I am certainly expecting the Blues to come out strong against their opponents today. So long as they can score an early goal, an easy Chelsea win should be expected.

Nonetheless, Chelsea’s failure to do so in the reverse fixture almost allowed Newcastle back into the game. The Blues would do well to avoid to usual pitfalls of becoming overly comfortable in possession.

Abhishek Pancholi: 2 – 1. A dreary game that will be decided by an own goal and a contentious penalty decision against Newcastle. The rest of it will be duller than hearing someone describe their experience of watching paint dry.

This is the kind of game that could do with a bit of magic to go around Rafa’s parked bus, but the guy who knew how to pass forward from midfield is fixing watches in France. Still, 3 points!