Magpies must 'get everything right' to win at Chelsea, says Howe

United head to the capital (2pm kick-off) fresh from Thursday's 2-1 win at Southampton, and should they avoid defeat against Thomas Tuchel's men their unbeaten run in the Premier League would stretch to ten games.

In order to reach double figures, though, Howe – who won on three of his five previous visits to Stamford Bridge as Bournemouth boss – says his charges must be at their best to topple to European champions.

"I think it's a very special place to play football. I think I've enjoyed three of those games, of the five – I didn't enjoy the other two very much. It is a very special place to play and we've enjoyed our encounters there," he said.

"They have top players, the stands are quite close to the pitch, there's a really good atmosphere, they've got a top manager as well – I've got a huge amount of respect for Thomas, I think he’s done an incredible job.

"We're going to have to be at our very best, at a stadium where we know the size of the task – it is an incredibly difficult ground to get anything from. I think every time we have with Bournemouth we got everything right and it's that kind of game – you need to get everything right or you won't get anything from it."

United's recent revival has seen them climb to 14th place – ten points above the relegation zone and just four points off a top half spot.

But Howe believes that Newcastle aren't quite safe yet, and has urged his charges to maintain their momentum as they look to continue their fine form.

"Football changes very quickly, as we've seen for the positive. We need to be very grounded, very humble, very level," he said.

"We're about to enter, and I do say this a lot, a difficult spell of games. We now go to Chelsea, then Everton, then Tottenham, away from home – incredibly difficult games. What we have done is put a gap between us and the bottom teams, but that's all it is. We've still got to win a lot more points."

There are question marks about the fitness of Joelinton and Allan Saint-Maximin ahead of the trip to Chelsea, with the influential duo having missed the win at St. Mary's with injury and illness respectively.

Defender Fabian Schär has a knock, too, while matchwinner Bruno Guimarães was replaced in the second half at Southampton and Howe says he will have to make some late calls on a number of his players ahead of the game against Tuchel's men.

"I think everyone in our squad is in contention to play. We'll let the dust settle from this game and see how we are physically," he said.

"There are some very tired bodies in the changing room, and a bit of cramp in the squad with a couple of players as well. We're going to have to be physically good against Chelsea so we might have to rotate, but we'll see and take it on an individual basis."

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