Steve Bruce takes his Newcastle side to Stamford Bridge hoping to end Thomas Tuchel's unbeaten start at Chelsea manager in his sixth game in charge of the London club, after revealing he has received death threats from Geordie fans during the team's recent losing run after form nosedived following a serious outbreak of Covid19 at the club, with some responsible fans determined to stamp it out.

Last week, Newcastle beat Southampton 3-2, ending the game with just nine men following the dismissal of Jeff Hendrick and losing Fabian Schar to injury after all three substitutes had been used but a rapid-fire first half saw The Magpies race into a three-goal lead for the first time in The Premier League since the 2015/6 season, thanks to a debut goal from Joe Willock & brace from Miguel Almiron.

It was an excellent win marked by superb attacking in the first half as Allan Saint-Maximum started his first game since being stricken by Corona Virus in November and made his presence felt early on laying the opening goal on a plate for Joe Willock..

and assisting Miguel Almiron's first goal plus heroic defending in the second half with 10 then 9 men with standout performances from Isaac Hayden, sub Paul Dummett & Karl Darlow yet Newcastle were dogged and disciplined to a man & deserved the win:

It was another much-needed victory that put 10 points of daylight between Newcastle and the bottom three teams in The Premier League and within 4 points of Southampton in 12th place but a win that came with a heavy price as Steve Bruce revealed on Monday that striker Callum Wilson will miss 6-8 weeks with a hamstring injury and Fabian Schar & Javier Manquillo both face lengthy spells on the sidelines:

Wilson has scored 10 Premier League goals this season and been involved in 75% of Newcastle's goals this campaign so who will replace him up front for The Magpies against Chelsea is Bruce's biggest decision ahead of Monday night's game with Dwight Gayle, Joelinton and Andy Carroll all vying for the spot or even winger-cum-forward Ryan Fraser.

If Bruce and new Assistant Graeme Jones are plotting to pull off a coup at Chelsea and win the game, it will only be Newcastle's 2nd away win at a Top 6 club since 2015, the other being won at Spurs when new £40M signing Joelinton scored the winning goal:

Joelinton brings presence, mobility, an aerial threat that saw him win the 7th most headers in The Premier League last season and while occupying defenders, provides a linkman that other players like Almiron, Saint-Maximum and Willock can play off.

Carroll is the best header of the ball at the club while lacking the mobility needed to press Chelsea like Barnsley did to such good effect in the FA Cup on Thursday night..

.while Gayle is perhaps the best natural finisher of the trio at St James' Park without the stature required to hold the ball up & get Newcastle up the pitch when necessary while both men are ideal for a big impact off the bench to give Newcastle something different.

In the slightly new role Wilson was playing in the adjusted Newcastle formation of the past few weeks since Graeme Jones' arrival, Joelinton is the best all-round fit and will be familiar with the higher, more intense pressing tactics playing in a similar system and style to that under which he flourished at Hoffenheim under Julian Nagelsmann.

Tellingly on his St James' arrival interview on www.nufc.co.uk, Jones said:

"We have got some good players who didn't start the other night. (the Leeds game)
"It is getting them in a system that suits them.
"That's my first thoughts on this job."

He may well have been referring to Joelinton as surely one of the mandates of any new coach at the club would be to get the most, certainly more, out of the club's record £40M signing, whom Newcastle fans have only seen flashes of playing in a more natural position in an attacking team such as against West Ham away last season in the 3-2 win, the 3-0 rout of Sheffield United at home in Project Restart in a 4-2-3-1 formation when he scored and had a player sent off and this season, away to Crystal Palace when he set up one and scored the other in a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace:

Bruce has long wanted to change Newcastle to a more attacking set-up and Joelinton could be the next player to benefit from this change in emphasis and approach, just as Miguel Almiron has shone in the no. 10 role in the last few matches, and together, along with Saint-Maximin and Joe Willock bombing on behind him, Newcastle can shine.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are now 5th in The Premier League table and looking up again after the sacking of Frank Lampard and arrival of Thomas Tuchel, who is beginning to implement a more possession-based style of football harking back to Arrigo Sacchi's time at Stamford Bridge that has saw them win the last three games against Burnley, Sheffield United and notably Jose's Spurs though Wolves drew 0-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Tuchel made changes to his starting line-up on Thursday night against Barnsley in The FA Cup though Newcastle fans hoping for the game to run into an exhausting spell of extra time were disappointed when Tammy Abraham wrapped it up with this goal:

Tuchel said in his press conference Thiago Silva is ruled out but Anders Cristensen who hurt his head on Thursday could make the game although Kurt Zouma is on standby:

‘It was not concussion-related at all,’ he said. ‘It was a headache so we took him off.’
‘It’s too soon for sure for Thiago,’ continued Tuchel. ‘We are aiming for Southampton and trying hard so let’s see if we make it but we cannot promise.’

Magpies fans will be hoping that its Bruce that give the German manager the first major headache of his Chelsea career on Monday night in a game in which a more expansive Newcastle team can play their part and win.

Prediction - Newcastle 2 Chelsea 1

Potential Line Ups: