Newcastle United v Chelsea F.C. Preview
Team news
Newcastle pair Fabian Schar and Kieran Trippier suffered cramp late on against Brighton but are fit to face top-five rivals Chelsea.
Head coach Eddie Howe says Joelinton is recovering well from the knee injury that was originally expected to rule him out for the rest of the season.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca will restore his first-choice XI after making 10 changes for their Europa Conference League semi-final second leg against Djurgarden.
Marc Guiu is nearing a return after three months out with a hamstring problem.
Match facts
Head-to-head
Newcastle have won seven of their past 11 league games against Chelsea at St James' Park (D1, L3).
However, the Blues have beaten Newcastle 31 times in the Premier League, only boasting a better record against West Ham (32) and Tottenham (37).
The two sides are level on points and goal difference with three games to play.
Newcastle United
Newcastle have lost only one of their past nine matches in all competitions.
They have earned 43 points from their last 20 fixtures, a tally surpassed only by Liverpool's 46.
It is the most points they have collected over a 20-game run in the top flight since accruing 44 between September 2002 and January 2003.
The Geordies have won eight of their 15 matches in all competitions this season against other sides in the current top seven.
Eddie Howe has won seven of his 20 meetings with Chelsea in all competitions, with each victory coming against a different manager.
Alexander Isak has scored an unrivalled 19 goals among Premier League players since the start of December, while his 23 goal involvements in that period is second only to Mohamed Salah's 30.
In all competitions this season, Isak has scored 10 goals and assisted two against other teams in the current top seven.
Bruno Guimaraes has become the first top-flight player this season to win 100 fouls, and he is the first player to do in consecutive seasons since Jack Grealish in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Chelsea
Chelsea are through to their eighth European final and a first since beating Manchester City to win the Champions League in 2021.
After a run of just four wins in 13 top-flight matches, they are unbeaten in six league games and have won three in a row for only the third time all season.
They conceded 36 goals in their first 26 league matches this season at a rate of 1.4 goals per game, but have only let in five in their last nine at 0.6 goals per match.
Against Liverpool, Chelsea scored more than two goals in a league game against anyone other than Southampton for the first time since 20 January.
No Blues player has been directly involved in more top-flight goals in 2025 than Enzo Fernandez's six (three goals and three assists).
Cole Palmer last week ended a run of 1,162 minutes without a league goal dating back to January.
