A guide to Chelsea’s February fixtures
- Evan McMurtrie
- @EvanMcMurtrie
- Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Share via email
- •
- 966 reads
- •
- 1,828 views
- •
- 8 min read
Chelsea Football Club ended January with a 5-1 trouncing over Championship side MK Dons in the fifth round of the FA Cup, finishing off what was a solid month of football for the Blues.
The Champions went six matches undefeated in all competitions, winning four and drawing twice.
As far as the Barclays Premier League goes, Chelsea sit 13th in the table, level with West Bromwich Albion on points but ahead on goal difference.
Today, I’m going to map out the club’s fixtures within the month of February, and we’ll take a guess at how Chelsea will fare.
Watford vs Chelsea: 3rd February
Competition: Barclays Premier League
Venue: Vicarage Road
Kick-off time: 7:45 p.m.
When Chelsea and Watford met at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day, the two sides went back and forth before settling level at 2-2. The Blues could have easily won it, but Oscar slipped and missed his penalty in the 80th minute. Still to this day, I wonder why Diego Costa didn’t grab the ball and bury the penalty to complete his hat-trick.
Watford are coming off a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup this past weekend. Their match was on Saturday, meaning they have one extra day of rest ahead of their fixture with Chelsea on Wednesday.
Prediction: The only reason that Chelsea drew against Watford in December was because of a few poor mistakes and a deflection. The Blues will win tomorrow, 3-1.
Chelsea vs Manchester United: 7th February
Competition: Barclays Premier League
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick-off time: 4 p.m.
Chelsea and Manchester United played out a boring 0-0 draw near the end of December, but both teams have picked up form since. United have won four out of their six matches, drawing at Newcastle and losing to Southampton.
The Red Devils have underperformed and had their own managerial problems this season, but they still sit 5th in the table.
Man Utd beat Derby County 3-1 in the FA Cup on Friday, and they play Stoke in the Premier League this week.
Prediction: It’s going to be a tight one between these two rivals. Maybe another draw? Let’s hope not.
Chelsea vs Newcastle United: 13th February
Competition: Barclays Premier League
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick-off time: 5:30 p.m.
Chelsea and Newcastle United drew 2-2 at St. James Park way back in September thanks to a heroic second-half comeback. The goals came from Ramires and Willian.
Before us, Newcastle will be taking on Everton away from home and West Bromwich Albion at home. Both of those fixtures could be tricky for them.
Prediction: Chelsea are in hot form and I think it’ll continue. Newcastle has had a horrific season as well, they are 18th in the league table and should be beatable.
Paris Saint-Germain vs Chelsea: 16th February
Competition: UEFA Champions League
Venue: Parc des Princes
Kick-off time: 7:45 p.m.
The Champions League finally returns on the 16th, where Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain will meet in the competition for the third season in a row. This year, just like last year, they will meet in the round-of-sixteen stage. Last time around, PSG advanced on away goals after a late Thiago Silva goal broke Chelsea hearts at Stamford Bridge.
PSG are absolutely demolishing Ligue 1 this season; they currently sit atop the table with 63 points, 24 points above second-placed Monaco. With the league basically wrapped up, manager Laurent Blanc will without a doubt be making sure his men are ready to beat Chelsea.
Prediction: It is going to be so, so hard for Chelsea to get past PSG. With the way this season has gone, the Blues are nowhere near ready to face such a strong team in such an important competition. However, like in 2012, maybe winning the Champions League is written in the stars for Chelsea this year. Best case scenario would be escaping Paris with a 1-0 win, or at the very least, an away goal.
Manchester City vs Chelsea: 20th February
Competition: FA Cup, Sixth Round
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick-off time: 3 p.m.
After playing PSG in the Champions League, it won’t get any easier for Chelsea as they welcome Manchester City to Stamford Bridge just four days later.
Chelsea will believe that winning the FA Cup can, at least, make them feel as though this season wasn’t a complete waste. Winning the Champions League, while highly unlikely, would erase all of the club’s problems. Thus, it is unfortunate that Chelsea’s next fixtures in those two competitions are sandwiched together in such a short space of time.
Prediction: City are right up there battling for the Premier League title, but no matter what type of form the two sides are in, it’ll be a tight battle.
Depending on what happens in Paris, who knows how Chelsea will fare. One thing’s for sure, though, and it’s that Guus Hiddink’s strong desire to win the FA Cup this year has been obvious.
Southampton vs Chelsea: 27th February
Competition: Barclays Premier League
Venue: St. Mary’s Stadium
Kick-off time: 3 p.m.
The last time that Chelsea played Southampton was in October, smack in the middle of that stage in the season where we wondered if the bad results under Jose Mourinho would ever end.
Willian opened the scoring after just 10 minutes with a dazzling free-kick, and everything was looking great. However, the Blues were embarrassingly defeated, 3-1, undone by goals from Steven Davis, Saido Mane, and Graziano Pelle, respectively.
Prediction: Southampton are 8th in the table and are having yet another solid season. For some reason, Chelsea always have problems with the Saints, and I can’t see that changing. It’s going to be a tough game, but under Hiddink’s new-look Chelsea, who knows what’ll happen.