Newcastle United's wait for a first win of the season continues with the unwelcoming spectre of league-leading Chelsea visiting St James' Park on Saturday afternoon.
With new owners and a new (temporary) manager at the helm, Newcastle will need a new approach if they are going to inflict Chelsea's first away defeat in the league this season.
The soon-to-be-monied Magpies can at least lean upon a week's worth of preparation for a fixture the Blues could only focus on after a midweek League Cup bout, as Chelsea won their third penalty shoot-out of the season already against Southampton.
Here's all you need to know about the upcoming clash.
How to watch Newcastle vs Chelsea on TV/live stream
When is kick off? Saturday 30 October, 15:00 (BST)
Where is the match being played? St James' Park
TV channel/live stream? BBC Radio Newcastle (UK), Gillette Soccer Saturday (Sky Sports - UK), Peacock Premium (US), DAZN (Canada)
Highlights? Sky Sports YouTube channel, Match of the Day (BBC - UK)
Referee? Paul Tierney
VAR? David Coote
Newcastle team news
Alongside the suspended Jonjo Shelvey, Newcastle's first and third-choice goalkeeping options - Martin Dubravka (ankle) and Freddie Woodman (muscle) respectively - are sidelined, leaving Karl Darlow between the sticks.
Paul Dummett ended the previous campaign with a heart-warming run of 12 consecutive full-90 minutes in the Premier League after a tortuous return from an Achilles tendon injury, but is yet to feature this season - though he has recently returned to light training.
Chelsea team news
The breadth and depth of Chelsea's expensively assembled squad is being increasingly tested as the Blues have a raft of doubts and definite absentees.
Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner are both unlikely to feature after the pair limped off against Malmo in a 4-0 win earlier this month that proved rather costly for Chelsea. Christian Pulisic continues to frustratingly hover on the brink of a return that is never too far from a setback, though Tuchel did offer encouraging verdicts on the trio of Cesar Azpilicueta (shoulder), Andreas Christensen (tooth) and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (hip).
Muscle fatigue has sidelined N'Golo Kante for Chelsea's last two matches but the energetic World Cup winner is set to be available come Saturday.
Newcastle vs Chelsea predicted lineups
Newcastle (4-4-2): Darlow; Manquillo, Lascelles, Clark, Ritchie; Hayden, Longstaff, Almiron; Willock; Saint-Maximin, Wilson
Chelsea (3-4-3: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger; James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Chilwell; Mount, Havertz, Hudson-Odoi
Newcastle vs Chelsea head-to-head record
For much of the 20th century, Newcastle and Chelsea enjoyed a tightly balanced rivalry with 45 wins for the Blues and 43 for the Magpies (30 draws apiece) across all competitions up to the 1998/99 campaign.
But as Chelsea began to increasingly lean upon foreign talent and investment, the slither between the clubs became a chasm; Chelsea have since recorded 31 victories to Newcastle's 11 in this fixture (nine draws each).
With money from distant shores now on the horizon for Newcastle, there may be another swing in this dynamic. However, recent results are not encouraging for those on Tyneside; Newcastle have lost five of their last six Premier League meetings with Chelsea.
Newcastle vs Chelsea score prediction
Who's to say where Newcastle - with considerably richer owners than their upcoming opponents - will stand in relation to Chelsea in the coming years? However, there is less doubt surrounding their imminent meeting.
Just nine games into the season, Chelsea and second-from-bottom Newcastle are already separated by a whopping 18 points. The Blues haven't always cranked out the convincing displays that title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City are accustomed to this term, but then again, they did just wallop seven goals past the only side lower than Newcastle in the table.
While Saturday's scoreline may not be as emphatic, the result is unlikely to be different.
Prediction: Newcastle 0-2 Chelsea
Source : 90min