Chelsea vs Newcastle: Blues aim to reclaim Champions League berth

Topics: TV Schedules, Chelsea, Newcastle United, English Premier League

After turning things around under new coach Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea will be looking to make it four on the spin as they welcome Newcastle United on February 15th.

Preview: Chelsea vs Newcastle United

With three consecutive wins in the Premier League, and four overall across all comps, Chelsea will be looking to move into the Champions League spot at the expense of Newcastle on Monday evening. Since Thomas Tuchel arrived, the Blues have experienced a mini-revival, and now sit just one point behind Liverpool who've been on a downward spiral. With the reigning champs losing three on the spin, there's now a golden opportunity for Chelsea to move into fourth spot and try to secure Champions League football for next term.

Indeed, Chelsea are currently unbeaten since Tuchel took over. The Blues started his tenure with a scoreless draw against Wolves, but have since gone on to beat Burnley, Spurs, and Sheffield United. More significant, the London giants have really improved defensively, as they conceded just one solitary goal during this run. In addition, they secured a win in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup last week thanks to Tammy Abraham, whose goal was enough to get them past Championship team Barnsley.

Following this upcoming tie, Chelsea will take on Southampton and then conclude the month with a mouth-watering home clash against fellow English giants Manchester United. In between those two fixtures, Tuchel's squad will have to face Spanish outfit Atletico Madrid in the Champions League - which could be a tricky fixture with Luis Suarez in top form for Diego Simeone's side.

Newcastle, meanwhile, have also experienced an uptick in form. Steve Bruce's men come into this match having picked up two victories from their last three league fixtures. This has helped the Magpies build a comfortable seven-point gap between themselves and the bottom three, and subsequently has helped alleviate relegation fears among their fan base.

However, the visitors have a long-standing frustrating record against Chelsea, with just one win in their last 25 visits to Stamford Bridge (D6 L18). That includes seven consecutive defeats, and to complicate things further, Newcastle also have a bit of bad luck when it comes to playing games on Monday, with only two wins from their prior 18 ties (D2 L14).

Finally, Bruce is also having to deal with an injury crisis, with several defenderse either out injured or in doubt, and key striker Callum Wilson set to miss a couple of months due to a long-term injury.

Team news: Chelsea vs Newcastle United

Chelsea: The hosts have been given a major boost with the anticipated return of Timo Werner after the German international now has recovered from a muscular complaint. Tuchel's only notable absentees will veteran defender Thiago Silva who still hasn't recovered from a thigh injury and potentially new signing Kai Havertz, who has missed out recently due to a knock.

Newcastle United: Midfielder Jeff Hendrick is banned for this match after being sent off in his team's loss last round. In addition, Steve Bruce has further selection issues, with defenders Fabian Schar and Javier Manquillo, as well as striker Callum Wilson are all out with long-term injuries. The Magpies manager has more worries in defense with both Jamaal Lascelles and Federico Fernandez.

Match facts: Chelsea vs Newcastle United

Chelsea have only lost one of their last 25 home Premier League games against Newcastle United (W18 D6)
The Blues are also looking to win eight consecutive home top-flight matches against the same opponent for the first time since beating West Brom nine straight times from 1984 to 2013
The Magpies have lost their last seven away games at Stamford Bridge
Despite this, Newcastle are also hoping to win consecutive away league games for the first time since July 2020
Newcastle have lost 14 of their last 18 Premier League matches played on a Monday (W2 D2)
Under Tuchel, Chelsea have won their last three Premier League matches, which is as many as they had in their prior 11 (W3 D3 L5)