Newcastle vs Chelsea

Newcastle made Chelsea fight tooth and nail for victory in their Premiership fixture at Stamford Bridge last week and it'll be take two at St James'Park this Wednesday as the two sides do battle for a place in the semi-finals of the Carling Cup. Glenn Roeder's side played out of their skin at 'The Bridge', especially considering that a number of key players were missing. They are still not at full-strength squad-wise, particularly in defence, but the likely return of Turkish midfielder Emre will serve as a timely boost. Newcastle have lost just one of their last ten in all competitions, which was the 1-0 defeat at Chelsea, and ex Inter Milan hitman Obafemi Martins has now settled into life with the Toon Army - he's scored five in his last four games, including both goals in the 2-1 win over Watford at the weekend. The Blues have had a couple of minor hiccups along the way this season, but no-one can doubt their resolution - this side, despite its plethora of 'galacticos' is willing to collectively roll its sleeves up and get dirty if necessary. The 3-2 win over Everton on Sunday proved as much. Like the Magpies, Jose Mourinho's charges have lost just one of their last ten in all tournaments - and that was a non-event; they were beaten by Werder Bremen in the Champions League but had already qualified from the group - and with this momentum behind them, it's little wonder that they are odds-on for this quarter-final tie. The last time these two clubs crossed swords in this competition was in 2001 when Chelsea ran out 1-0 winners at Stamford Bridge, funnily enough at the same stage, the quarter-finals. Mourinho seems to take this competition seriously and, with a congested Premiership fixture list ahead consisting of four games in 13 days, he'll not be wanting extra-time, that's for sure. However, the home side will be buoyed by the fact that the Premiership champions have only beaten them in the north east once in their last six visits in all competitions. Indeed, the Toon Army have beaten Chelsea in four of their most recent half-dozen encounters with the sw London side at St James', and they have nothing to lose in this match given that they are underdogs. Admittedly, Chelsea did overwhelm Newcastle in the end at Stamford Bridge last week, and they will be extremely difficult to beat. But I reckon that the home side will approach this clash with confidence after their sterling effort last week and, with the advantage of being at home this time, they should make a good fist of it. Whatever the outcome, I am pretty confident that the deadlock will not be broken in the first half. As such, my advice is to opt for 0-0 in the half-time correct score betting at 2/1 with bet365. Chelsea invariably warm to their task and gather pace as their matches continue, while Newcastle are bound to play conservatively leading up to the interval. Hopefully, they'll have read the script. verdict - 2pts 0-0 in the half-time correct score market @ 2/1 (bet365)