Newcastle vs Chelsea - 5 May
-
Newcastle vs Chelsea
EPL Game: 37
Monday 05 May
Channel 27 - 11:00 pm - (Live)
Newcastle
Harper, Forster, Beye, Enrique, Taylor, Faye, Edgar, Cacapa, Butt, N'Zogbia, Duff, Barton, Geremi, Milner, Owen, Smith, Martins, Viduka, Carroll.
Chelsea
Cech, Hilario, Belletti, Ferreira, Carvalho, Alex, Ben-Haim, Terry, A Cole, Bridge, J Cole, Ballack, Essien, Lampard, Wright-Phillips, Malouda, Kalou, Anelka, Drogba, Shevchenko, Obi, Makelele.
-
Will the Messiah end Chelsea's Title ambition with a win at St James Park... or derail them with a draw?
But I think it won't be possible... They have been playing quite poorly and winning against the weaker sides only...
-
Keegan vows not to let Blues cruise at St James'
Kevin Keegan has warned Chelsea they will have to be at their best if they are to leave St James' Park with their Barclays Premier League title hopes intact.
The Newcastle boss is relishing the chance to pitch his improving side into battle with the Champions League finalists on Monday knowing they could have a major say in the destiny of this season's championship. Having rekindled their title hopes with last weekend's victory over Manchester United, Avram Grant's men kept their European dream on track with a gruelling semi-final victory over Liverpool in midweek.
However, Keegan is confident that, for the first time this season, his side will head into the game in the right frame of mind to tackle one of the big four. He said: 'It's a chance for the players here to test themselves against the very best, probably for the first time this season playing one of the top-four sides while we are in a run or form and while we have got some confidence.
'There's no doubt that should help us. Now whether that will help us enough to play for 90 minutes-plus against a side of Chelsea's calibre and get us a result, that's what we don't know. 'But we are going into the game with an awful lot to play for. We are playing for the biggest thing of all, we are playing for pride.'
Keegan went nine games without a single victory following his return to St James' Park, but since defeating Fulham 2-0 on March 22, his side has not looked back. Perhaps their most impressive result since they broke the new manager's duck was the 4-1 win at Tottenham a week later, and he is confident a similar performance will give them a good chance of upsetting the odds this time around.
Keegan said: 'There is no doubt about it, Chelsea will expect to come to Newcastle and get something - that's why they are at the top of the league. 'But expecting it and getting it... there is a game of 90-odd minutes in between that needs playing. 'We have a good record against Chelsea at St James' Park over the last few years, so that in some ways will be an inspiration to us. 'But it won't be enough on it's own to help us win. We need a performance, we need to show ourselves in a good light and we need to pick up, I guess, a Tottenham-type performance. 'That, with the crowd behind us, will see us give them a hell of a game. 'If they come through that and they become champions in the next week, 10 days, they will deserve it.'
Keegan hopes to have defenders Abdoulaye Faye and David Edgar fit after groin and head injuries, respectively, although Claudio Cacapa is on stand-by. Midfielder James Milner will return to the squad after almost two months on the sidelines with a foot problem.
-
TERRY: THIS IS OUR TIME
JOHN TERRY will gather his Chelsea team together at St James' Park tomorrow and urge them to produce one last heroic push for glory.
They face Newcastle in the first of three do-or-die matches as their thrilling shoot-out with double rivals Manchester United reaches a heart-pumping climax. At stake no less than the Premier League and Champions League crowns. And the Chelsea captain is convinced his men can upset all the odds — and United — to make history.
Special
England centre-half Terry, 27, will drill the message home with a short and simple rallying call. He will roar: "This is our moment. This is our time!" Two brief sentences which sum up his sense of destiny after Chelsea's astonishing run of form this year has put club football's two greatest prizes within his grasp.
Terry explained: "There's a unique opportunity for us now and I really believe it is our time. "This is the moment when we can achieve something truly special. "We are in top form, we feel strong and we have the drive and determination to do this. At this club we have a driving force within, a drive that's instilled in everyone of us. "We are winners. We hate to lose and that's why we never give up."
Many sides would not have recovered from the setbacks which have hit the Blues this season. The shock departure of inspirational boss Jose Mourinho rocked the club in September, then a string of injuries to key players added yet more pressure on Avram Grant, the new man in charge. The loss of Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou and John Obi Mikel for the African Cup of Nations increased the strain. But Terry says Chelsea's stars turned the misery of events in 2007 into inspiration for their amazing recovery in 2008.
Terry added: "Seeing Manchester United win the Premier League last year, seeing them and Arsenal running away with it at the start of this season — that hurt us. "But credit to everyone at this club. "We refused to concede anything and just kept fighting and fighting. "That's what we are all about. When things are down, when things are against us — that's when we respond and rise to the challenge.
Cabinet
"So we dug deep and delivered the results, first to stay in touch and then to close the gap. "And now we have pegged United back and also overtaken Arsenal — and few people outside of Stamford Bridge would have believed that was possible. "But that's what we're all about at Chelsea — that's what's brought us all our trophies in the last three years and now we're looking to make room in the cabinet for a couple more."
Terry says it has been a united effort from boss Grant through to the players. And the skipper is quick to pay tribute to his often under-fire boss and scotch talk of the new manager being unceremoniously dumped in the summer.
He added: "It's bizarre to even talk about that when we've just made history and are still pushing for two massive trophies. "Avram has done very well. Steve Clarke has done very well, Henk ten Cate has done very well. "And the players have done exceptionally well, to keep us in the title race. "So everyone at this football club deserves credit."
Terry admits there have been times when he has been angry and upset as Chelsea looked to be chasing in vain. There were even times when he read the riot act in the dressing room to galvanise his side. But he always had faith that the Blues would prevail.
He said: "I never lost belief. I did get frustrated at times, even disappointed at times, but you have to take it on the chin and deal with it — especially me as captain. "The one thing we always did was get everyone in the dressing room together, thrash it all out and then get on with it.
Wire
"We tackled it, sorted it and pushed on." The players have pushed on that well that we're taking the Premier League title to the wire and we're off to Moscow. "Whatever happens, we have achieved something which we have never done before in Chelsea's history — we have reached the Champions League final.
"That is the one trophy missing from the Chelsea collection. "Winning two Premier league titles, the FA Cup and the Carling Cup ahead of teams like Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool show we are a great team.
"We have dominated the domestic scene in the last few years and now we have a great chance to be crowned the No1 side in Europe. "And being against United it has all the makings of a great final. "The two best teams in this country coming head to head for the biggest prize in European football. "Hopefully we will come out on top. "But we know that won't be easy because this doesn't just mean everything to the Chelsea players — it means everything to the United players too.
"No-one's going there to lose that's for sure. "But you also know there has to be a loser — we're just hoping it will be Manchester United. "And I don't care how we win, what the match is like, what score is, that doesn't bother me at all. "Just as long as we win. "To lift that trophy is all I'm dreaming about."
-
bad time to be playing newcastle. they are in form.
-
Not really lah... what form beating the Reading, the Fulham, the Sunderland and the West Ham kind of clubs... They are still a weak side and once you score against them... they break down and you can score more type...
-
I think tonight could be the first time Chelsea will feel the real pressure of chasing for the epl title... In the past few months, Arsenal were the one having all the pressure until they crack and was replace by United at the top... United have been under the pressure all this time but since Chelsea over took Arsenal and became level on points to United... I belief expectations have suddenly increase...
If Chelsea don't get an early goal tonight, they will start to get nervous in the second half... But then again, Newcastle isn't exactly a strong side even at home...
-
Newcastle v Chelsea
Chelsea manager Avram Grant has a fully-fit squad to choose from ahead of the clash with Newcastle on Monday.
Midfielder Michael Ballack collected a slight leg injury against Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday but should be fit enough to play.
Newcastle will have striker Mark Viduka available, despite the Australian struggling with an Achilles injury.
James Milner (foot), Abdoulaye Faye (groin) and David Edgar (head) should also play, but Stephen Carr is a doubt.
Chelsea (from): Cech, Hilario, Belletti, Ferreira, Carvalho, Alex, Ben-Haim, Terry, A Cole, Bridge, J Cole, Ballack, Essien, Lampard, Wright-Phillips, Malouda, Kalou, Anelka, Drogba, Shevchenko, Obi, Makelele.
Newcastle (from): Harper, Forster, Beye, Enrique, Taylor, Faye, Edgar, Cacapa, Butt, N'Zogbia, Duff, Barton, Geremi, Milner, Owen, Smith, Martins, Viduka, Carroll.
REFEREESteve Bennett (Orpington, Kent)
-
where is the starting eleven ?
-
Keegan is rather crazy going with 3 strikers...
Newcastle: Harper, Beye, Taylor, Faye, Jose Enrique, Geremi, Butt, Barton, Viduka, Owen, Martins.
Subs: Forster, Cacapa, Duff, N'Zogbia, Smith.Chelsea: Cech, Ferreira, Terry, Carvalho, Bridge, Essien, Obi, Ballack, Anelka, Drogba, Malouda.
Subs: Cudicini, Shevchenko, Lampard, Joe Cole, Alex. -
lampard never play
-
wah newcastle nearly score man
-
I think at the end Chelsea will win this... as usual... Newcastle luckless...
-
knn newcastle waste my money
-
lai ba lai ba lai ba !!! newcastle LAI BA!
-
Newcastle are like hopeless man... can't even get out of their own half... Eventually Chelsea will score...
-
goal!!
ballack
-
Seems ballack is on form for the moment.
-
ballack always score wif his head
his header damm pro
-
goal!!
2-0
fuck newcastle _l_
waste my money
-
I guess Chelsea woke up after the team talk eh? lol
-
Well, Chelsea seemed to play rather well i must say... They never looked nervous at anytime of the match even before their first goal and there was something like 30 mins left to the match...
The one thing i seem to see in this season's chelsea is they are rather strong as a team and they don't show they are feeling any sign of pressure at all unlike last year's...