Newcastle United take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday for a Sky Sports televised 2pm kick-off.
So far pundits' predictions haven't given Newcastle much to be hopeful for with both Chris Sutton and Paul Merson predicting a defeat for the Magpies in the Capital.
Chelsea aren't the force they once were but they are doing surprisingly well under Enzo Maresca and will give Eddie Howe's misfiring Newcastle side plenty to think about on Sunday that's for sure.
The consensus has been that Chelsea will pick up all three points on Sunday but former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer has other ideas.
In his column for The Metro, Alan Shearer has been a bit more kind to his beloved Newcastle, suggesting they may leave Stamford Bridge with a share of the spoils.
"Newcastle can get something at Stamford Bridge with another week on the training ground and no midweek game.
"Eddie Howe will have plenty of time to work on their finishing and final ball this week and if they can improve on that, with the confidence of Anthony Gordon signing a new contract, they can go to Chelsea and get a point which will hopefully kick-start their season.
"Chelsea impressed me at Liverpool and are showing signs of progress, so I am expecting this to be a tight game on Sunday. Draw."
While Big Al isn't predicting a win for Newcastle, it's still an improvement on what has come before so we'll take it.
Indeed, we'd happily take a draw on the road against Chelsea followed by a win over the Blues when they come to St James' Park on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup.
The enthusiasm for match day just isn't there this week thanks to all the negative predictions. Thanks lads, you've ruined it.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
13 | 18 | 34 |
2 |
Arsenal
|
13 | 12 | 25 |
3 |
Chelsea
|
13 | 12 | 25 |
4 |
Brighton
|
13 | 5 | 23 |
5 |
Manchester City
|
13 | 3 | 23 |
6 |
Nottingham Forest
|
13 | 3 | 22 |
7 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
13 | 14 | 20 |
8 |
Brentford
|
13 | 3 | 20 |
9 |
Manchester United
|
13 | 4 | 19 |
10 |
Fulham
|
13 | 0 | 19 |
11 |
Newcastle United
|
13 | 0 | 19 |
12 |
Aston Villa
|
13 | -3 | 19 |
13 |
Bournemouth
|
13 | 1 | 18 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
13 | -7 | 15 |
15 |
Everton
|
13 | -11 | 11 |
16 |
Leicester
|
13 | -11 | 10 |
17 |
Crystal Palace
|
13 | -7 | 9 |
18 |
Wolves
|
13 | -10 | 9 |
19 |
Ipswich
|
13 | -11 | 9 |
20 |
Southampton
|
13 | -15 | 5 |