Newcastle United vs Chelsea prediction, odds and betting tips

Two Champions League hopefuls will do battle on Saturday afternoon as Newcastle United host Chelsea.

Find the latest match odds for Newcastle United vs Chelsea. All odds are provided by our best-reviewed football betting sites. Odds are subject to change.

• Draw - 5/2 with BetMGM
• Over 2.5 goals - 4/5 with bet365
• Cole Palmer to score any time - 29/10 with Betfair

Newcastle United were perhaps the biggest overachievers in the Premier League last season, while Chelsea were the major underachievers.

The Magpies upset the odds by gatecrashing the top four and qualifying for the Champions League in Eddie Howe’s first full campaign at the helm.

As for the Blues, they went through three different managers and slumped to a 12th-place finish, their worst performance in the top flight since 1993/94.

There were 27 points separating these two teams last term, but the gap is unlikely to be that big this time around.

Newcastle have the edge at present with 20 points to Chelsea’s 16. They started the season slowly, losing three of their first four matches, but only Aston Villa have amassed more points than Eddie Howe’s team since the middle of September.

Chelsea also suffered a few poor results early on, winning only one of their first six league games under Mauricio Pochettino.

But the Blues have picked up of late and have lost just one of their last six - or one of the last eight if we take all competitions into account.

Both Newcastle and Chelsea have designs on a top-four finish. Fifth place may well be enough to secure qualification for an expanded Champions League in 2024/25, but that is not yet confirmed. For now the top four remains the aim.

With Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal looking strong, there may well be only one spot remaining for the likes of Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and this pair to fight over.

Results in head-to-head fixtures like this one will thus go a long way to determining the outcome of both Newcastle and Chelsea’s seasons.

This should be an engaging game at St James’ Park, with both teams eyeing a victory over a potential top-four rival.

Newcastle edged out Chelsea 1-0 in this match last season, while the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge was a 1-1 draw on the final day of 2022/23.

This looks set to be a similarly close match. Newcastle will hope that home advantage plays its part. Howe’s men are certainly tough to play against on familiar turf.

Newcastle are a hard-running, high-energy team. They feed off the energy of the crowd at St James’. That makes them a dangerous proposition for all visiting sides.

Newcaste have won five of their six home games in the Premier League this term, but they are not flawless on their own patch. Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund have left the northeast of England with all three points in their suitcases.

Chelsea will hope to do the same, but a draw would likely be seen as a positive result by Pochettino.

The Blues have tended to raise their game against the bigger sides in the division, but it is notable that their meetings with Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City all ended with the scores level.

They did beat Tottenham Hotspur in a London derby earlier this month, but that was in large part because their opponents spent much of the match playing with nine men.

Do not be surprised if there is nothing separating Newcastle and Chelsea after 90 minutes on Saturday.

In their final match before the recent international break, Chelsea went toe to toe with Manchester City in a pulsating 4-4 draw.

Pochettino will hope that it was a coming-of-age performance from his young team. Chelsea have certainly not had everything their own way this season, but the way they approached that game against the champions will have delighted the Stamford Bridge faithful.

A more measured approach may be necessary at St James’ Park, but Pochettino will not instruct his team to simply sit back and hope for the best.

Chelsea had problems scoring goals in the early part of the season, but that has not been the case of late. Since the beginning of October no team has put the ball in the back of the net as often. Chelsea have scored twice or more in four of their last five Premier League assignments.

Newcastle, for their part, are the joint-third highest goal-getters in the division. Attacks should come out on top in this one.

Callum Wilson has been ruled out of this game through injury and Alexander Isak may need to undergo a late fitness test. If the Sweden international does not make it, Anthony Gordon will start through the middle for Newcastle.

Given that uncertainty, the best option in the anytime goalscorer market is Cole Palmer, who has enjoyed an impressive start to life at Chelsea following an eyebrow-raising move from Manchester City over the summer.

Palmer has scored four goals in his last five Premier League outings and his confidence will be sky-high after the youngster made his England debut against Malta last week.

Palmer has also emerged as Chelsea’s first-choice penalty taker and the Blues have been awarded spot-kicks in their last two games.

• Location: St James’ Park, Newcastle, England.
• Date and time: Saturday 25 November 2023, 3pm.
• How to watch: Not being shown live in the UK.

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