Newcastle United welcome a resurgent Chelsea to St James' Park on Saturday evening desperately hunting the morale-boosting win needed to kick-start a dire season.
Riding a three-match winning streak into the North-East, though, beating the Blues is much more daunting now than it might have been a matter of weeks ago.
Newcastle United
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Steve McClaren admitted that winless Newcastle were teetering on the brink of a crisis following their League Cup exit by Sheffield Wednesday, but victory over the Premier League champions may just be the pick-me-up needed to kick-start their season.
With two points from a possible 18, and eliminated from the Capital One Cup by a Championship side, the boos that echoed around St James' Park on Wednesday night were perhaps understandable given the way in which the team has struggled so far.
Having spent over £50m on new recruits during the summer, this is far from the start that McClaren, the fans and owner Mike Ashley would have dreamt of.
Bizarrely, they were only 11 minutes away from an opening-day victory over Southampton, but a 79th-minute equaliser from Shane Long earned the visitors a 2-2 draw. It was arguably the defining moment of their season so far, and the Magpies have only managed one Premier League goal since that day.
Defeats by Swansea City and Arsenal followed, either side of a hard-fought 0-0 draw at Manchester City, before a Dimitri Payet brace gave West Ham United a 2-0 win at Upton Park 11 days ago.
Things took another turn for the worst last Saturday when top-flight new boys Watford left St James' Park with a 2-1 win, with Daryl Janmaat reducing the arrears with half-an-hour left but the equaliser never came.
Victory - or perhaps a draw, depending on how it is earned - would certainly stave off the boo boys come Saturday, but another defeat and McClaren may find himself right in the middle of the crisis that he can feel on the horizon.
Recent form: DLDLLL
Recent form (all competitions): DWLLLL
Chelsea
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Victory at St James' Park on Saturday would represent another step in the right direction for a Chelsea side hoping to continue their winning streak after a dreadful opening few weeks to the season.
With three successive victories, scoring 10 goals and conceding one along the way, it certainly seems as if Jose Mourinho's men have rediscovered their gusto.
It should be noted, however, that Maccabi Tel Aviv and Walsall make up two thirds of their current winning streak, and last week's 2-0 triumph over Arsenal - who played with 10 men for 45 minutes, and then with nine for the final quarter - was far from convincing.
Still, the results have been far more important than the performances for Chelsea in recent weeks, after enduring their worst start to a league campaign for 29 years.
It all started at Stamford Bridge on August 8 when the champions were out-fought and out-played by Swansea City, who had to settle for a 2-2 draw despite dominating. Eight days later, Mourinho's side were humbled 3-0 at Manchester City - a scoreline that could have been significantly worse for them.
They beat West Bromwich Albion 3-2, with summer signing Pedro on the scoresheet, but it was a false dawn as back-to-back defeats against Crystal Palace and Everton followed either side of the two-week international break.
The Blues stopped the rot by brushing aside Maccabi with a 4-0 win in the Champions League, before a controversial victory over the Gunners followed. It was a game in which referee Mike Dean, Chelsea striker Diego Costa and Arsenal defender Gabriel stole the headlines after the latter was sent off. Costa, in truth, should have also gone and a three-match retrospective ban followed.
He served the first game of his suspension in Wednesday's 4-1 demolition at Walsall in the League Cup. It was another win which restored some of the confidence lost as a result of their previous defeats, but another victory must follow tomorrow.
This time last week they were 11 points behind City. Now the deficit is eight and there can be no let-up if they harbour hopes of retaining their title.
Recent form: DLWLLW
Recent form (all competitions): WLLWWW
Team News
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United have been boosted by the return of striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has completed a three-match ban and could spearhead the attack tomorrow.
Midfielder Cheick Tiote and striker Papiss Cisse are progressing well, but McClaren revealed that the duo will only resume full training on Monday following their respective injuries.
With Costa serving the second of a three-game ban himself, there is an opportunity for Loic Remy or Radamel Falcao to stake their claim, but Mourinho revealed that he was undecided over who would start up top.
The Portuguese did, however, hint that Remy - who previously enjoyed a successful loan spell at Newcastle - may lead the line due to the "motivation" of facing his former club.
Willian was the only player who missed their win over Arsenal, but the Brazilian winger is expected to start in the North-East.
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Krul; Janmaat, Mbemba, Coloccini, Haidara; Wijnaldum, Colback; Sissoko, Perez, Thauvin; Mitrovic
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Begovic; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Zouma, Ivanovic; Matic, Fabregas; Hazard, Oscar, Pedro; Remy
Head To Head
Strangely, Newcastle have proven a tough nut to crack for Chelsea in recent years, with both sides winning three of the last six meetings. Interestingly, the Blues have not won at Newcastle in almost four years, losing each of their last three visits. It was Alan Pardew who masterminded a 2-0 home win at St James' Park last December to thwart Mourinho's would-be Invincibles, who were unbeaten at the time.
We say: Newcastle United 0-3 Chelsea
With Chelsea getting back to their best, and Newcastle seemingly heading in the opposite direction, it is ever so difficult to see anything but a comfortable away win on Saturday. We reckon that Mourinho and co will continue making positive strides in the form of an emphatic win.
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