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Chelsea have a great opportunity to end Newcastle's long-standing record this weekend and here are three reasons they will beat the Magpies at St James' Park.
The international break is finally over and Premier League action resumes with a bang this Saturday with seven exciting fixtures including the heavyweight encounter between Manchester City and Liverpool.
But beyond the early kickoff at the Etihad Stadium, there is another huge Premier League game on Saturday and it's at St James' Park where Newcastle United play hosts to Chelsea.
Only four points separate both teams and Chelsea will be motivated to reduce that gap to one with a win this Saturday but that's not all the victory at St James' Park will do.
The game is a 3 pm (UK time) kickoff which is a great timeslot for Newcastle as they have not lost any of their last 18 games on a traditional Saturday 3 pm kickoff.
Newcastle have 12 wins and six draws in this untouchable run that dates back to 2021, the last time they lost a Saturday 3 pm game which was rather ominously also against Chelsea.
Reece James scored twice as did Jorginho from the penalty spot to seal a 3-0 win at St James' Park on October 30, 2021 and they now have a chance to do it again just over two years later.
Here are three reasons Chelsea will beat Newcastle this Saturday and end the 3 pm kickoff record.
1. Chelsea are in great form
Chelsea come into this game with just one loss in their last eight matches with confidence under Pochettino at an all-time high after beating Tottenham and avoiding defeat against Arsenal and Manchester City.
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The entertaining 4-4 draw against Pep Guardiola's men is still fresh in the memory of Chelsea fans despite the interruption of the international break.
Pochettino however will be hoping that break has not tampered with his team's momentum ahead of this massive game at St James' Park.
Chelsea also have the third-best away record in the Premier League this season with just one defeat so far on their travels and are on a hot streak of three consecutive away wins, scoring 10 goals in total and concerning two in trips to Fulham, Burnley and Tottenham.
This puts Chelsea in the ascendancy going into this game on Saturday especially as their hosts are also struggling at the moment.
2. Newcastle are in bad form
Newcastle are on a run of two wins in their last six games across all competitions and Eddie Howe's team also suffered back-to-back 2-0 losses to Borussia Dortmund and Bournemouth just before the international break so things are not looking great right now.
Of course, the bad run of form is a direct consequence of the Magpies' injury problems with Harvey Barney, Callum Wilson, Dan Burn, Sven Botman, Josh Murphy and Matt Targett all ruled out injured for this one while Sandro Tonali continues to serve his nine-month ban.
Howe will be boosted by the return of key players Kieran Trippier and Alexander Isak but Newcastle still have too many key figures out for this one against a dangerous Chelsea side.
Chelsea will also be buoyed by the fact that they have won two of their last three visits to St James' Park, all signs point to another good day out for Pochettino.
3. Poetic justice
The aforementioned run of 3 pm kickoffs that Newcastle have going on could serve as a great motivator for the visitors who will be very much aware of the record.
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The knowledge that they are the last team to beat Newcastle at this time slot will come in handy in also putting that run to bed.
Newcastle losing to Chelsea in 2021 and then going unbeaten in the subsequent 18 games at 3 pm on Saturday only to then lose to Chelsea again at that same time adds a poetic element to this game.
That might prove difficult though as Newcastle have a great record at home this season with eight wins out of 10 games at St James' Park, Liverpool and Dortmund are the only teams to win their this season.
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