Preview: Newcastle United aiming to deny Mourinho for the third time
The 2-1 loss against Sunderland last weekend still resounds in the head of Newcastle United’s club and supporters. It was the first time in nearly half a century that the Magpies had suffered successive defeats against their bitter rivals. After that demoralizing result, Newcastle took on Manchester City in the hope of reaching the 2013/14 Capital One Cup quarter-finals.
They came close to achieving their mission but Manuel Pellegrini’s side proved too tough to crack. With underperforming goalkeeper Joe Hart benched and several squad changes, Man City found a great balance in defence to deny the Magpies. After 90 minutes of action, the two teams could not be separated. Alan Pardew’s side eventually ran out of steam in extra-time, allowing Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko to score without reply.
In their second consecutive fixture staged at St. James’ Park, Newcastle United have the obligation of adding at least one more point to the 11 they currently have. But this is much easier said than done, although head-to-head stats against second-placed Chelsea give enough room to expect a possible upset.
The last five games between the Blues and the Magpies at St. James’ Park have seen the former triumph three times but the last of those meetings ended 3-2 in favour of the hosts. Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho is yet to come out of this ground victorious. In his previous spell at Chelsea, the Portuguese manager picked only two points from a possible six at St. James Park and he will be looking to be third-time lucky this Saturday.
The Blues showed their true colours in midweek as they taught a football lesson to Le Prof’s Gunners in the Capital One Cup. A great performance at the Emirates helped them clinch a morale-boosting 2-0 win. It sure looks like Chelsea have found their swag on the pitch with six straight wins in all competitions and only one defeat (away to Everton) since the start of the 2013/14 English Premier League season.
If Jose Mourinho succeeds in clinching his first win away to Newcastle United, Chelsea (20 points) could finish Matchday 10 as the EPL’s new leaders provided things go their way in Saturday’s late kick-off between Arsenal (22 points) and Liverpool (20 points).
Where to watch the match – live stream, start time, TV channels, live scores
To adjust with BT Sport’s live broadcast schedule, this clash has been scheduled as Saturday’s lunch-time kick-off. It was originally arranged to take place at 15:00 BST.
Watch Newcastle United vs Chelsea live on Saturday, November 2, 2013:
In Canada at 8:45 ET on: Sportsnet Ontario / East / West / Pacific, TalkSport Radio
In UK at 12:45 BST on: BBC One, BT Sport 1, BBC Radio 5 Live
In USA at 8:45 ET on: NBC Sports Live Extra, NBC Sports Network, DirecTV, TalkSport Radio, SiriusXM FC
Visit the Newcastle-Chelsea match page for full live listings as well as live scores upon kick-off.
