CHELSEA will be looking to continue their fine away form when they square off with Newcastle at St James' Park on Saturday evening.
The Blues boast the joint-second best away record in the division having racked up 22 points from a possible 33 on the road thus far.
Inconsistencies have plagued the capital clubs home form, however, the Blues did register an overdue Stamford Bridge success last Saturday when brushing aside Burnley 3-0 in west London.
Indeed, Newcastle picked up a valuable point away at Wolves last weekend, however, the Magpies have only managed to win one of their last six top-flight tussles.
What's more, Steve Bruce is having to contend with an ever-growing injury list with the Toon Army treatment currently inundated with casualties.
Yet, the FA Cup proved to be the perfect tonic for Bruce's injury ravaged squad on Tuesday night when Newcastle picked up a morale-boosting 4-1 win over Rochdale.
The Betting Odds
Newcastle have triumphed in four of the last six meetings between these two sides in the North-East and a home success on Saturday evening is priced at a towering 11/2 (William Hill)
Chelsea are odds-on favourites at 8/15 (Unibet) to chalk up another three points on the road, however, the Blues were held at Brighton on New Year's Day – a repeat of that outcome this weekend is an unfancied 7/2 (PaddyPower)
The Betting Angles
Miguel Almiron scored his long-awaited first goal for Newcastle last month against Crystal Palace – a strike that has subsequently sparked a purple patch for the in-form Paraguay playmaker.
The former Atlanta United man scored in both FA Cup ties with Rochdale either side of making the net bulge at Molineux last weekend, and given that no Newcastle player has taken more shots at goal this season than Almiron, I like the look of the 11/8 (William Hill) on offer for the attacking midfielder to have at least one shot on target against Chelsea.
Whether or not Almiron can continue his hot-streak remains to be seen, however, I do fancy Newcastle to breach a brittle Blues backline that has only managed to register a solitary league shutout away from Stamford Bridge in the Premier League this season.
Granted, Newcastle will set out to frustrate the visitors, however, the Mags have got on the scoresheet in eight of their last nine outings at St James' and backing Newcastle to hit the back of the net at 4/6 (Betfred) appeals – a bet that sailed home for me when Man City were held to a 2-2 draw on Tyneside in late November.
However, at the other end of the park the hosts will be hard tasked when trying shutout a Chelsea side who have scored in each of their last 14 away trips – Frank Lampard's young guns are averaging an eye-catching 2.2 goals per game on their travels.
Yet, despite a number of impressive displays on the road this term from the Londoners, I suspect this tea-time tussle could be slightly closer than what the betting suggests given how leaky Lampard's backline have been during the first half of the season.
Therefore, instead of backing the Blues to bag all three points at a skinny looking 8/15 (UniBet) , I am instead going to back both teams to score at much more enticing 10/11 (Betfred) – a bet that would have generated profit in nine of Chelsea's 11 Premier League away days this season so far.
This English Premier League match between Newcastle and Chelsea will be played on Jan 18, 2020 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Newcastle vs Chelsea prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
