Chelsea vs Newcastle United

Stamford Bridge is the venue as out-of-sorts Chelsea and high-flying Newcastle United meet in the final game of the 2022/23 Premier League season.

This season cannot end quickly enough for Chelsea, who must settle for a first bottom-half finish in the Premier League since 1995/96 after winning only 29.73% of their league matches in 2022/23 (W11, D10, L16). An embarrassing 4-1 defeat at Manchester United in midweek Premier League action condemned the ‘Blues’ to an eighth loss in ten competitive games under interim manager Frank Lampard (W1, D1). While you’d assume the Stamford Bridge return could inspire some confidence in Lampard’s corner, Chelsea’s horrendous seven-game winless home streak in all competitions (D3, L4) tells a different story. A failed attempt to get on the scoresheet would see Chelsea go nine home games without scoring in a single season for the first time since 1980/81.

In stark contrast to the London outfit’s humiliating campaign, Newcastle United have gone from strength to strength in 2022/23, securing Champions League qualification for the first time in over two decades despite a poor 0-0 home draw against relegation-threatened Leicester City earlier this week. Eddie Howe’s men will be keen to end an outstanding season on a high, safe in the knowledge they’ve only lost once in their last six away league matches (W4, D1). However, Stamford Bridge hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the ‘Magpies’ over the years by any stretch of the imagination. They have only won one of their 27 visits to this stadium during the Premier League era (D6, L20), losing each of the last nine since a 2-0 win in 2012. To make things worse, they failed to find the net six times in that sequence.