(Football news) Chelsea are now in 12th place in the standings, but they might drop as far as 14th, while Newcastle has already locked up a top-four spot going into the final matchday. Newcastle United are currently in fourth place, two points behind third-place Manchester United. Chelsea lost 4-1 to Man United at Old Trafford. Frank Lampard’s team would’ve lost 4-0 in Manchester, but Joao Felix came off the bench to score a late consolation for the visitors. This was Chelsea’s 16th Premier League loss of the year.
There is no escaping the reality that the Blues have had a terrible season. They have only managed to win 12, tie 10, and lose 16 league games for a total of 43 points, which is only good for 12th place in the standings going into the final round of games in England’s premier division. If other results go against them, Chelsea might lose here and fall as low as 14th, which would add insult to injury. Chelsea could finish above Crystal Palace in 11th place.
Planning for the upcoming season began a long time ago since Mauricio Pochettino is expected to take over as head coach and succeed interim boss Lampard, who has lost eight of his ten games since rejoining the team when Graham Potter left. The fans at Stamford Bridge won’t be able to watch any European football next season, but a victory on Sunday would at least give them something to cheer about, as the Blues haven’t lost at home to Newcastle in the Premier League since May 2012.
With a goalless draw against Leicester City, Newcastle was guaranteed a spot in the Champions League for the following season. This has been an outstanding campaign for them. Eddie Howe’s team needs to win and hope that Manchester United loses points at home to Fulham for them to move into the top three in the Premier League. They now rank fourth with 70 points from 37 games, two points behind Manchester United.
Newcastle hasn’t participated in the Champions League group stage since 2003, thus it will be interesting to watch what deals are made this summer since the club will be able to draw players of a higher class thanks to their participation in the continent’s premier competition. Despite having a fantastic season, Howe’s club has only won one of its past four league games, and on May 13, Leeds United held them to a 2-2 tie in their most recent road game.
Newcastle defeated Chelsea 1-0 at St James’ Park in December, and they will aim to win their first league series victory over the London club since the 1986–87 season. However, the Magpies have only triumphed on one of their previous 27 Premier League excursions to Stamford Bridge.
Squad Updates
On Sunday afternoon, Benoit Badiashile, Armando Broja, Raheem Sterling, N’Golo Kante, Marc Cucurella, Ben Chilwell, and Marcus Bettinelli will still be unavailable for Chelsea. Reece James will once more be left out as he experienced a setback in his recovery from a thigh issue. Mason Mount, who is highly linked to a summer transfer, has a chance to make the team as he has resumed training following stomach surgery. Thiago Silva, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic, and Felix are likely to replace players in Lampard’s starting lineup who played at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Nick Pope, Emil Krafth, Javier Manquillo, Jamaal Lascelles, Matt Ritchie, Joelinton, and Joe Willock are among the Newcastle players that are out injured. Pope’s finger surgery-related absence will allow Martin Dubravka to start in goal, and Elliot Anderson might take Willock’s spot in the midfield. There won’t be many surprises in the Newcastle side due to the injury issue, as Jacob Murphy is likely to play alongside Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak in the final third of the pitch, and the back four should remain the same as it has for the majority of the season.
Predicted Playing Xl
Chelsea : Kepa, Azpilicueta, Silva, Koulibaly, Hall, Gallagher, Fernandez, Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic, Felix, Madueke
Newcastle United : Dubravka, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn, S Longstaff, Guimaraes, Anderson, Murphy, Wilson, Isak
Predictions
In parts of their game against Man United on Thursday, Chelsea played well, but they were unable to secure a victory due to shoddy defending and finishing. On Sunday, Newcastle won’t be at full strength, so we’re betting on Chelsea to finish their season with a draw against the top-four team.
Chelsea 1 – 1 Newcastle United
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