Rejuvenated Torres key for Chelsea as Blues aim for 6th straight win

Fernando Torres will be key to Chelsea’s fortunes

Newcastle – Chelsea Date: 2nd November 2013

Venue: St James’ Park

Chelsea travel to Newcastle knowing a win would take them to the top of the table, for a few hours at least, whilst Newcastle return to league action looking to bounce back from last week’s disappointing defeat to Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby.

Newcastle United v Chelsea stats centre

Team News:

Newcastle

Alan Pardew made five changes from the side from the side that lost at the Stadium of Light on Sunday for the visit of Manchester City in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday. Nonetheless he fielded a strong side, who had to undergo a gruelling test over 120 minutes. Pardew admitted that his team wouldn’t be training prior to the Chelsea game, in order to rest his players.

Defenders Massadio Haidara and Paul Dummett were both withdrawn having suffered injuries against City, and face a race against time to be fit for Saturday. Dummett has experienced a dream few weeks: making his full debut, scoring his first goal and reportedly being rewarded with a new deal.

Centre-back pairing Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor both face late fitness tests ahead of the game which will decide if they are a part of Alan Pardew’s plans.

Chelsea

Such is the strength of Chelsea’s squad, manager Jose Mourinho was able to make ten changes from the side that beat Manchester City on Sunday and still record a comfortable victory over Arsenal at the Emirates. Some of the side that had a night off may have been watching nervously as the Blues ran out 2-0 victors at the Emirates, in fear of being displaced in the Portuguese’s first team.

Marco van Ginkel is the only member of Chelsea’s first-team squad that is missing through injury. The young Dutch midfielder has been ruled out for the season with cruciate ligament injury. Otherwise, Jose Mourinho has a wealth of options to pick from.

Recent Form:

Newcastle United v Chelsea recent form

The home side have been a model of inconsistency this season. Sitting 11th they have only recorded one set of back-to-back victories this season, and seem to oscillate between the good: a win at Villa Park, the bad: a 3-0 drubbing in the first half at Goodison Park, and the ugly: a crushing defeat at the Stadium of Light against their fierce local rivals.

Unsurprisingly for a team with their resources, Chelsea have been far more consistent and have overcome their early teething problems to sit 2nd in the table. Since successive defeats to Everton and Basel in August, Joe Mourinho’s side haven’t looked back, and are unbeaten in nine games in all competitions. Ominously for Newcastle, this includes a run of six successive victories.

Players to Watch:

Newcastle – Loic Remy

With Papiss Cisse currently striking an uninterested figure up front, the Newcastle strike force has become reliant upon on-loan Remy for goals. Whilst Joe Kinnear may only have tied up one signing in the summer, it has proven to be an astute one with Remy contributing five goals since his move from QPR. Against a side that have only conceded six goals in nine games this season, Remy’s ability in front of goal is likely to be key to Newcastle’s hopes of victory.

Loic Remy stats

Chelsea – Fernando Torres

After being promised the return of “the real Fernando Torres” a seemingly infinite number of times, the Spaniard’s performance against Manchester City on Sunday has once again been pointed to as the start of his resurgence. Whether this will prove to be another false dawn remains to be seen, but the former Liverpool striker remains the player to watch this weekend. He won the Squawka man of the match award on Sunday, namely due to his goal and assist, and more contributions like that could prove invaluable to Chelsea’s title charge in a position that could otherwise be their Achilles heel.

Fernando Torres v Manchester City

Prediction

With the squad at Chelsea’s disposal it is hard to see beyond an away win. A trip to Newcastle is never easy, as Liverpool found out a fortnight ago, but Chelsea should prove too strong. Newcastle 1-2 Chelsea.