Newcastle have only one win in their last six matches and it was in the League Cup. They could only defeat modest Wimbledon thanks to a penalty shootout. A round earlier, they had to wait for a penalty shootout to beat Nottingham. In the last three Premier League matches, Newcastle managed to pick up only one point.
Chelsea are now fifth in the Premier League and just one point behind the top three. The Blues were able to overcome a bad stretch that happened to them in October. And in the last round pushed away one of their direct competitors, which was Newcastle. In the Conference League, two confident victories and four goals in each of the games. And in the League Cup, unfortunate Barrow got five unanswered goals. Maresca is not shy to use rotation in minor tournaments, but it does not affect the result so far.