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Preview: Chelsea vs. Newcastle United

The battle for fourth spot will be on the minds of Chelsea and Newcastle United tonight. Here, Sports Mole previews the encounter at Stamford Bridge.

A loss for either side at Stamford Bridge this evening could put an end to their chances of securing fourth spot and Champions League football for next season.

Hosting Chelsea are the favourites to take maximum points, having scored six against Queens Park Rangers on Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Newcastle's recent good form was brought to an abrupt end during the weekend's 4-0 loss to relegation strugglers Wigan Athletic.

Chelsea defenders David Luiz and Gary Cahill will miss the encounter with injuries. However, the Blues will be boosted by the return of Branislav Ivanovic from a three-match suspension.

Interim manager Roberto Di Matteo will also have to make a decision between Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba in attack.

Visiting boss Alan Pardew has one new injury concern in the form of full-back Danny Simpson, who is struggling with a muscular complaint.

Should the Magpies slip to a defeat it will be the first time in 21 outings that they have lost consecutive games.

Current form:

Chelsea: DWWDDW
Newcastle: WWWWWL

Possible lineups:

Chelsea: Cech; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole; Essien; Sturridge, Romeu, Malouda, Kalou; Torres

Newcastle: Krul; Perch, Williamson, Coloccini, Santon; Tiote, Cabaye, Gutiérrez; Ben Arfa, Cisse, Ba

Sports Mole says: 2-1

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1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


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