Liam Rosenior hits out at referee for gatecrashing Chelsea huddle

Good afternoon and welcome to live coverage of Chelsea vs Newcastle United in the Premier League, with Liam Rosenior’s men hoping to bounce back from their late collapse against Paris Saint-Germain in the week and climb into the top four.

In the 73rd minute of Wednesday’s round-of-16 first leg in Paris, Chelsea were on course for a respectable and useful 2-2 draw to take back to Stamford Bridge. However, a disastrous final 20 minutes, sparked by a glaring error from Filip Jorgensen, has left them facing a 5-2 deficit ahead of Tuesday’s second leg.

While PSG get the weekend off from Ligue 1 duties, Chelsea will be hoping a victory against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge this evening can restore some confidence and belief before the French side come to town.

With Manchester United hosting Aston Villa on Sunday, before Liverpool face Tottenham, Chelsea have the chance to set the pace in the race for Champions League football this weekend. While they are currently level on points with sixth-placed Liverpool, a win against Eddie Howe’s side would take Chelsea into third, above United and Villa on goal difference.

Newcastle had been enduring an incredibly difficult period in the league, with one win in seven games. However, they beat United 2-1 in their last top-flight outing, and following defeat against Manchester City in the FA Cup, were only denied a famous victory against Barcelona with the last kick of the game as Lamine Yamal converted from the spot.

Ahead of their trip to Spain on Tuesday, Howe’s side are hoping to secure successive league wins for the first time since the start of January, a result which could take them from 13th to ninth, depending on how this afternoon’s 3pm fixtures finish. 

Chelsea have failed to beat Newcastle in their last three meetings, with November’s league clash ending in a 2-2 draw after the west London side’s second-half comeback, but they have not lost against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge in the league since 2012, winning 11 of their 12 home ties in the competition in that time.