It isn't often that a third-placed team can view a match against a team in eighth as a banker, but these are strange times. Jose Mourinho will certainly not be taking Newcastle's visit lightly, as Chelsea's arguably worst performance of the season came in the St James' Park fixture, but this is a different Newcastle he will be facing. Yohan Cabaye will be a huge miss in the centre of the midfield, and with Check Tiote, Loic Remy, Fabricio Collocini, Yoan Gouffran and Papiss Cisse all unavailable, Newcastle could not have picked a worse time to travel to Chelsea. Bang out of form, the Magpies are rank outsiders to add to their six away wins in the league. Chelsea will be positively strutting onto the pitch, having shut out Man City superbly on Monday night, and in Eden Hazard they have a player flourishing from being the prime creative outlet. He rang rings round the Man City defence and midfield - the Stamford Bridge crowd will be on the edge of their seats to see what he can produce against a defence that let three in at home to Sunderland last week. Prediction - 3-0 Chelsea win.
I am from Bangor, aged 24, and possess an MA in Journalism from The University Of Ulster. I have had work published in the Belfast Telegraph and interviewed several local footballers and Olympic athletes. I also run my own sports blog, 'Sporting Thought' in addition to contributing to What Culture.
