Chelsea only defeated Newcastle 1-0 in the reverse fixture. The Toons are largely the same side while being a bit different now at the same time.
Newcastle basically stayed up by playing the most organized, defensive football imaginable under Rafa Benitez. Make no mistake; it absolutely worked and most other managers would have seen Newcastle back into the Championship. Whether it was right or not, Benitez’s decision kept Newcastle in the league.
The appointment of Steve Bruce was not met with parades. It felt like such a “we are accepting our relegation” type of choice. Initially, that seemed to play out as expected but Bruce himself was not saying what was expected. Instead, he lamented how defensive Newcastle got and he wanted something more out of them.
It has taken a long time, but Newcastle is finally responding. They may not be much different than the organized, defensive Benitez team but they also are not the same. There is a certain bit of fight Newcastle has now that was not there before. Chelsea and Frank Lampard should take note.
Newcastle generally plays in a standard 3-4-3 shape. Occasionally they will mix it up with a 3-5-2, but the three man defensive line with wing backs either side has been a main stay. It makes sense given they know they will not control possession and they could do with the extra center back over the extra center mid.
The Toons actually create a fair few chances thanks to the hard work of Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin. Almiron especially has started to add some of his Major League Soccer goal scoring to his nonstop running around the pitch looking to get involved. The wing backs also generally help out much more than they did earlier in the season when they may have been a little more accustomed to sitting back.
Off the ball, Newcastle will look to pack numbers in behind the ball with the wing backs or strikers occasionally counter pressing as the rest fall back. That too is a newly added ability for Newcastle as before everyone would immediately retreat.
The common theme is that Bruce has slowly pulled some get up and go out of Newcastle. They still are not a great side, but they are definitely not the walk over expected this season or the gritty play-for-zero-zero side of last year.
But their added fight also leaves them vulnerable. They are picking up more points now but they are also losing by bigger margins than they previously were. Chelsea will have plenty of chances to make Newcastle pay if they are precise about it.
Perhaps the biggest note to take is that Newcastle focus a lot on set piece goals. Chelsea is obviously weak at defending against them. So long as Chelsea can keep the game against Newcastle things should be fine but if the Blues start giving up free kicks and corners, this one may be a tight affair.
This match looks easy enough on paper. Nothing ever is in the Premier League though. Chelsea should be winning, but taking it easy is bound to backfire.