BPL Preview Chelsea Vs Newcastle United: Blues look to Tidy Up!

The season is almost over and much to the disgust of their fans and owner, Chelsea will end it empty handed. To their credit, the Blues have worked their way up since their mid-season slump from the fifth place, all the way up to the second place. As they looked set to challenge Manchester United to bring the Premier League title home for the consecutive time, Manchester United defeated them and the gap of points between the two widened to six points. After all the hard work they made, the end did not justify. And now, the Blues look to do some tidy up their season as they will see Manchester United lift the title should the Red Devils grab a point this weekend.

Fernando Torres: yet to fire with the blues

Mathematically, Chelsea will still have the chance to still grab the title but realistically, seeing the Devils going up against only struggling Blackburn and possible relegation candidate Blackpool, the Blues would just have to close their eyes and see what would happen. Should Man Utd lose their games and resulting Chelsea to win the league, it will be a miracle of some sort and in another point of view, Chelsea will make their names in the book of records for the greatest comeback to have ever existed.

Chelsea’s purchase of Fernando Torres and David Luiz in January didn’t make much of an impact especially the 50mil man, also known as El Nino. But this Sunday, we will see much of the full squad making their way into view. Although the title seems too far away, Carlo Ancelotti will make full use of this weekend to experiment even more. Expect the combination of Torres and Drogba again as Ancelotti will find even more ways for the duo to ‘gel’. The selection of midfielders will be an interesting topic as we will be looking for different styles of play. Will Ancelotti pick a midfield with experience by playing Mikel, or will Ancelotti use speed by playing Ramires?

Newcastle on the other hand look wobbly as their statistic proves it. The Toons have drawn with Backpool, lost to Liverpool and won against Birmingham. Their performance overall this season has been pretty inconsistent and every since losing Andy Carrol to Liverpool, the Toons look to lack firepower as they rely on Ameobi and the latter has been on and off due to his injury.

With Kevin Nolan out due to a knee injury and Williamson breaking his arm, Newcastle look to have a shortage of players and it will result in lack of option. With Chelsea coming up and West Brom after that, the Magpies will end their season with difficulty. Joey Barton on the other hand will be expected to hand in another ‘fine’ performance as fans of football from around the world will again look forward to see the self acclaimed ‘Best Player’ in the Premier League in action.

PLAYER TO WATCH:

Frank Lampard:

The midfielder was in good form against Manchester United last weekend, scoring what turned out to be a consolation goal. But there was much intent in Lampard strike and he will be left to avenge Chelsea’s failure to build on what should have been a “comeback goal”. Although the league title is very likely to end up in Manchester United’s hands, Chelsea are playing for pride. Lampard, in particular, has had a season interrupted by injuries but he’s still managed to come good at times. This certainly explains why he comes third behind Malouda and Drogba in the assists rankings.

There’s more, perhaps, that the aging Lampard can offer and the match against Newcastle United will help him prove a few important points:

1) That he is unfazed by transfer rumors linking him with an exit from Chelsea to Real Madrid where he will be reunited with Jose Mourinho.

2) That you can fool him once but not twice after his disappointment against Manchester United. In other words, Lampard keeps putting his mentality to the test and his performances down the years have been quite consistent.

Although some may feel that he is reaching lows this season, Lampard certainly has more fire burning in his belly to keep playing at the top level. This weekend’s game against Newcastle United will provide him with the perfect opportunity to exhibit himself once again to the benefit of Chelsea without the “negative” influence of pressure, given that there’s probably nothing to play for now.

Steven Taylor:

Pundits may make a fair decision to pick up Steven Taylor as the man to watch. The defender has been outstanding at times for Newcastle United. He is the blend of aggressiveness and flashes of talent. Having headed Newcastle United to Premier League safety last weekend shows that Steven Taylor is perhaps, and I say perhaps, a step ahead of most of his team mates when it comes to inspirational influence.

One has to remember that Newcastle United will have to make do without skipper Kevin Nolan who has undergone surgery. So Newcastle United may concentrate their efforts on defending, where Steven Taylor would be asked to play a major role. Mathematically, Newcastle United have a chance of breaking into the top half of the English Premier League table. With only two points separating the 8th position occupied by Stoke City (46 points) from the 12th position occupied by Sunderland (44 points), a draw may be acceptable enough for Newcastle United against Chelsea this weekend. Ahead of the very last match-day of the EPL campaign, if the coach decides to play for a draw indeed, Steven Taylor may well appear as Newcastle United’s player to watch.