Neck and neck in the Premier League table, Newcastle United and Chelsea face off in a potentially season-defining gameweek 36 contest at St James' Park on Sunday.
The Champions League qualification six-pointer pits the fourth-placed Magpies against Enzo Maresca's resurgent Blues, whose ongoing three-match winning streak in the competition is the West London club's second-longest of the 2024-25 season, following a five-game run between November and December 2024.
Match preview
Another weekend of twists is expected in the Premier League's exciting race for the top five, with Newcastle hosting Chelsea, aiming to create some separation and potentially dent the Blues' Champions League aspirations.
The Magpies enter their penultimate home fixture in fourth place, level on 63 points with their weekend opponents, though a higher or lower finish remains a possibility.
With second-placed Arsenal taking their eye off the ball domestically, Newcastle find themselves four points adrift of Mikel Arteta's men, who travel to champions Liverpool this weekend before hosting Eddie Howe's troops next week.
While Arsenal (67 points) and Manchester City (64) can still be eclipsed, the Magpies could also drop lower in the table, given the positions of Chelsea (63), Nottingham Forest (61) and Aston Villa (60).
Although there is a risk of slipping outside the guaranteed top-five spots this weekend, especially considering that they have dropped points in two of their previous three top-flight games — losing 4-1 at Aston Villa and drawing 1-1 at Brighton & Hove Albion — the Toon Army have reasons to enter Sunday's fixture against Chelsea with optimism.
Only Liverpool (46 points) have accumulated more points than Newcastle (43) over the previous 20 league games, a tally boosted by their admirable form at St James' Park, where they have won five in a row, scoring three or more in four of those victories against Forest (4-3), Manchester United (4-1), Crystal Palace (5-0) and relegated Ipswich Town (3-0).
Considering that the hosts have won seven of their previous 11 Premier League home games against Chelsea, whom they also eliminated in this season's EFL Cup fourth round, the Geordies, who have watched Howe win his three meetings with the Blues on Tyneside by an aggregate score of 7-1, will back their side to end the West Londoners' winning streak.
Nevertheless, the travelling support will feel they enter Sunday's clash with a greater chance of success than they had a month ago.
After an extended wobble post-Christmas that saw Maresca's team slip from potential title contenders to glancing nervously at the Champions League race, the London outfit have shown signs of life once again, as evidenced by a three-game league winning streak that culminated in Cole Palmer's apparent resurgence in gameweek 35's 3-1 victory against an admittedly much-changed and less motivated Liverpool side.
The Blues, whose ongoing top-flight run marks their longest winning streak since achieving five victories over Leicester City (2-1), Aston Villa (3-0), Southampton (5-1), Tottenham Hotspur (4-3) and Brentford (2-1) from November to December, have secured two continental victories during this run, bringing their total to five consecutive wins in all competitions.
The first in this series of victories came in a dramatic comeback at Fulham on April 20, when the Conference League finalists needed Tyrique George's 83rd-minute equaliser and Pedro Neto's second-half stoppage-time goal to defeat their West London neighbours and claim their first away league victory since December 8.
Having achieved two triumphs at Leicester and Southampton before beating Spurs, the Blues endured a frustrating eight-match streak without maximum points on the road, losing five and failing to score in five matches.
Considering that the Fulham victory has served as a boost for this ongoing winning sequence, Maresca, who hopes to guide Chelsea back into the Champions League after a two-season absence, is aiming for consecutive away wins for the first time in five months to avoid slipping out of the coveted Champions League spots.
Team News
Having already lost club captain Jamaal Lascelles to a long-term knee injury and Lewis Hall (foot) for the rest of the season, Howe's revelation that Joelinton could also miss Newcastle's run-in was the worst news the Toon Army could have received.
While Matt Targett (hamstring) is expected to miss out, Fabian Schar's involvement is uncertain, and the hosts could turn to Sven Botman to partner Dan Burn at centre-back if the Swiss defender is unavailable.
Although Alexander Isak has scored five fewer goals than Mohamed Salah (28), the 23-goal forward is tied with the Liverpool star on nine match-winning goals in 24-25, underlining the importance of the Swede's contributions.
No player has scored more home goals than the Magpies' leading goalscorer (12), whose 23-goal tally accounts for 34.8% of the Magpies' 66 top-flight goals, a ratio bettered only by Forest's Chris Wood, whose 19 goals make up 35.2% of the Tricky Trees' 54 strikes.
Even though the Blues are not Isak's favourite opponents in English football, the Swede has scored in his previous four appearances against Chelsea in all competitions, and he aims to extend that run.
While Marc Guiu is unlikely to start, the youngster's possible return to the squad could give Chelsea an additional option on the bench, especially considering Christopher Nkunku's recent absence.
Wesley Fofana (hamstring) is out for the season after undergoing surgery, while backup defender Aaron Anselmino, who was unlikely to feature on Tyneside, is absent due to a similar issue.
Barring a setback for the injury-prone Romeo Lavia, Maresca could utilise an unchanged lineup for the third league game running, with the Italian deploying Chelsea Player of the Season Moises Caicedo at full-back with a license to drift into midfield when the Blues have good possession.
After his outstanding performance against Liverpool culminated in ending a 12-match top-flight drought, Palmer could score in consecutive league games for the first time since January, aiming to add to his 15 Premier League strikes.
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Pope; Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento; Guimaraes, Tonali, Willock; Murphy, Isak, Gordon
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Caicedo, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Lavia, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Madueke; Jackson
We say: Newcastle United 3-1 Chelsea
Given that Forest are expected to beat relegated Leicester, neither Newcastle nor Chelsea can afford to lose on Sunday.
Despite the Blues' run of victories and Lavia's return to fitness giving Maresca's men a different dimension, the Magpies have shown consistency on home turf for a longer stretch than their opponents, who still have question marks surrounding their away form, regardless of the Fulham win.
Considering Howe's winning record whenever the Blues visit Tyneside, Isak scoring in four of his previous five matches at St James' Park and the Swede's impressive record against Chelsea, the Toon Army are backed to leave Sunday's lunchtime fixture in higher spirits.
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