BT Sport pundit Michael Owen is expecting Chelsea to come out on top in a narrow contest against Newcastle at St James’ Park on Saturday.

The Blues have been in good form recently, and Owen believes they should have enough to overcome the Magpies, particularly if Timo Werner gets on the scoresheet:

“I originally said I fancied Chelsea to finish 3rd, however, I think that the points total will be lower this year, and that could bring the Blues right into the title mix. If they are to achieve that, then they will have to take maximum points from matches such as this. With Timo Werner in such good form, I think he could be amongst the goals in a Chelsea victory.”

Owen has gone for a 2-1 win for the away side. It’s surprising that the former England international has gone for such a close scoreline, considering Newcastle’s poor 2-0 defeat to Southampton before the international break.

Steve Bruce’s side did, though, win against Everton at home at the start of the month so they shouldn’t be taken too lightly, but they are not exactly an expansive team.

They will likely sit back and play on the counter-attack and Chelsea will have to be patient in order to break them down. They played against a similar team, in Burnley, recently and came out 3-0 winners and manager Frank Lampard will be hoping for a performance in the same vein this weekend.