After late heartbreak in the Champions League for both Chelsea and Newcastle United, each side will be looking to bounce back when they meet in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Saturday (17:30 GMT).
Chelsea competed well for long spells against Paris St-Germain, only for a late capitulation to cost them three goals. They have a 5-2 deficit to overcome in the second leg next week back in London.
Newcastle were hit by a sucker punch at home to Barcelona in their own last-16 first leg. Having been the better side for much of the contest, an 86th-minute strike from Harvey Barnes was cancelled out by Lamine Yamal’s penalty deep into injury time.
Joao Pedro and Fernandez cover up Chelsea defensive concerns
Head coach Liam Rosenior may still be struggling to find a balance at the back for Chelsea, but he has been able to get the best out of a number of attacking players – Joao Pedro especially.
While former head coach Enzo Maresca used the Brazilian in different ways, under Rosenior his focus has clearly shifted towards being at the point of the attack.
Under the new boss he is averaging more shots per game – up to 3.17 from 1.92 – and creating fewer chances as a result – 0.62, down from 1.32. He is also making more runs in behind the opposition defence and is coming short for the ball less often.
The end result has been a huge uplift in his goalscoring threat.
Chelsea also have one of the most productive midfielders in European football on their books in Enzo Fernandez.
Since the start of last season, only Bruno Fernandes (59) has more goal involvements among midfielders for Premier League clubs in all competitions than the Blues star. Fernandez was superb in Paris, grabbing a goal and an assist in a losing cause.
Chelsea need all the goals they can get as there are big problems at the back.
Rosenior is yet to name the same defence in any of his games in charge at Chelsea and they have kept only three clean sheets from his 16 games.
No forward momentum for Newcastle
At times this season there have been sections of the Newcastle team that have worked well. But in the final third they remain a puzzle.
Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa have both struggled since big-money moves in the summer. Eddie Howe handed an opportunity to William Osula to lead the line against Barcelona despite his inexperience, and at times he has opted against fielding a striker at all.
The search for a formula that works is no surprise given the respective performances of the players. The trio have made a total of 44 appearances between them this calendar year and have only six goal contributions to show for it – three goals and three assists.
It has been a running theme for Newcastle throughout the season. Of all the teams in the Premier League in 2025-26, their percentage of goals from forwards is the lowest in the division, with just a third of their 42 goals coming from attackers.
Even some of their best technical midfielders have struggled to find the back of the net. Sandro Tonali has had 28 shots without scoring in 2025-26, more than any other player in the league.
Stamford Bridge has not been a happy hunting ground for Newcastle in recent years either. They have lost 11 and drawn one of their past 12 games there since a 2-0 win in 2012.
