Newcastle 'will give Chelsea a game' as pundits make their Stamford Bridge predictions

A handful of Premier League pundits have predicted Newcastle United’s nine-game unbeaten Premier League run to come to an end against Chelsea. The Magpies make their second trip south in the space of four days as they’re in the capital to face Thomas Tuchel’s side at Stamford Bridge.

The visitors could not be going into the game in much better form with 16 points from their last six games, a tally bettered only by Liverpool. However, Chelsea are the reigning World and European champions for a reason and are Newcastle’s toughest opponents since the visit of Manchester City to St James’ Park before Christmas.

For that reason, the pundits tasked with predicting this weekend’s Premier League results don’t hold much hope for the Magpies on their travels.

Starting off with former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson in his weekly column with BBC Sport. He said: “Newcastle have got some breathing space above the bottom three because of their run of results in the past few weeks but I don't see Eddie Howe letting his side take their foot off the pedal.

“All it would take is a run of two or three defeats and they could be right back in trouble. The Magpies are not going to win every week, but maintaining their performance levels is important. I still think Chelsea will win but I'd be surprised if Newcastle play poorly after all the positive work they have done.” Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Former Toon striker Michael Owen is also fearful of a similar result at Stamford Bridge but expects the away side to get on the scoresheet. He told BetVictor: “It’s clearly been a strange and difficult week for Chelsea off the pitch but on it, they took care of business against Norwich. I really like the way Kai Havertz has been playing of late. He’s