Chelsea Hope to Defy Trend in Newcastle Visit | OneFootball

Chelsea Under a Cloud

Chelsea travel to Newcastle this weekend amidst a lot of speculation surrounding manager Enzo Maresca.

Only a few weeks ago it seemed the Blues were coasting, having just beaten Barcelona 3-0 and picking up a point against league leaders Arsenal whilst down to 10 men. But since then things have gone downhill sharply. They lost to Leeds, drew with Bournemouth and lost to Atalanta in the Champions League.

It seemed things were looking up after they beat Everton last weekend, but then Maresca dropped some bombshell comments, saying the two days in the lead up to the game had been his “worst 48 hours” at the club since he joined. There has been an inquest into what exactly he was referring to in the ensuing days, and on top of that, respected journalist David Ornstein reported just a few days later in The Atlantic that the Italian is one of the prime candidates for the Manchester City job should Pep Guardiola leave this summer.

Chelsea did beat Cardiff in the Carabao Cup earlier this week and Maresca was keen to highlight his achievements, saying it was the third semi-final he has led Chelsea to since taking over 18 months ago.

The Blues will be without Estévão this weekend; he has a muscle injury. But some good news is that Moises Caicedo is back in contention to start after serving a three-match suspension for his red card against Arsenal. It is no coincidence that Chelsea’s worst form of the season came while he was out of the team. The Ecuadorian has made the most interceptions of any player in the Premier League this season, with 27.

Newcastle Sail Unsteady Waters

Newcastle also reached the Carabao Cup semi-final this week, after beating Fulham 2-1. Eddie Howe will be looking at the game against Chelsea with more than a hint of confidence, as the Magpies have beaten Chelsea in the last two head-to-head games between the clubs. They have also beaten Chelsea in their last three home Premier League games, making St. James’ a veritable fortress.

Howe’s side are, however, in poor form. They have only won two of their last five games in all competitions and lost to Sunderland in the much anticipated Tyne-Wear derby last weekend.

It has been a very disappointing league campaign so far for Newcastle, and after 16 games they are 12th in the league. They have lost as many games as they have won, and it’s fair to say that four years into their takeover of the club, the Saudi Public Investment Fund would have had higher aspirations than this.

Howe has been unlucky with injuries, but with Chelsea and then Manchester United to come, it might get worse before it gets better.