After 14 rounds, league leaders Chelsea are still sitting pretty comfortably at the top of the table, as their unbeaten record thus far has seen them rack up an impressive 36 points. More important, though, for Blues fans is the squad's depth, brilliantly displayed as they cruised to a 3-0 win over Tottenham in Wednesday's derby clash. Despite the absence of top-scorer Diego Costa due to suspension, Jose Mourinho's men had no trouble in dispatching Spurs with goals from Eden Hazard, Didier Drogba, and Loic Remy.
The Portuguese tactician will certainly be pleased with his troops' efforts as the win mid-week means that they have now equaled a club record of 23 games sans defeat in all competitions. However, despite their brilliant form, St. James' Park does not hold fond memories for him as he has yet to win a single game in four visits to Newcastle United, with two losses and two draws.
Interestingly, the last time the two sides met, it was none other than Remy who scored his side's second to give the hosts a confidence-boosting victory and so it will be interesting to see what kind of reception he will receive upon a return to his old stomping ground. Despite the huge gap between the two--with 16 points separating the ninth-placed Magpies from their visitors, Alan Pardew nonetheless feels that his team, given their past history, can possibly do what no other team has done thus far and earn three points against the 2012 Champions League winners.
"Mentally we are in a strong position and our confidence is high. We need to threaten Chelsea because they look terrific. They are a great team who are strong and organised, [but] somewhere along the line they will slip up and hopefully we can exploit any weaknesses they have," he stated in his pre-match press conference.
Pardew's task, though, will be made much harder due to an injury crisis that has hit his squad. Goalkeeper Tim Krul is out with an ankle issue, midfield duo Gabriel Obertan and Siem de Jong are long-term absentees due to thigh strains, and defenders Ryan Taylor and Davide Santon are both struggling with knee problems. Moroever, his captain, Fabricio Coloccini has missed the past couple of games with calf trouble and may be in doubt for the upcoming game.
Newcastle will certainly be wary of Eden Hazard, as the Belgian seems to have a thing for scoring against them. In just three meetings, he has already netted a quartet of goals and will definitely be looking to add more to that tally as Mourinho hopes to equal Arsenal's record of completing a Premier League campaign undefeated.
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