Chelsea vs Newcastle: Premier League - LIVE

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Rafael Benitez returns to Stamford Bridge for the first time since his spell as Chelsea's interim boss The Spaniard took charge for seven months in 2012-13 against a backdrop of supporter discontent following the sacking of Roberto Di Matteo, winning the Europa League in Amsterdam The third-place hosts, unbeaten throughout November, have kept four clean sheets in their last five Premier League matches and will hope to start closing the 11-point gap to leaders Manchester City with a favourable run of fixtures Newcastle had dropped four consecutive matches - Benitez's worst losing run in the top-flight - before fighting back from a 2-0 deficit to claim a point at West Brom in midweek

The Magpies have won only one of their last nine league matches and claimed their only PL win at Chelsea to date in 2012 They have drawn six and lost 15 of their other 21 previous trips to west London Benitez's record as an opposition manager on this ground stands at one win, four draws and seven losses from 12 games Rafael Benitez heads back to Chelsea today for the first time since 2012-13, when he was appointed as the club's temporary manager following the sacking of Roberto Di Matteo despite remaining an unpopular figure with a large section of the fanbase owing to his part in a rivalry with former employers Liverpool that raged throughout the 2000s. The subsequent seven months proved to be predictably stormy, with the Spaniard, who lost his rag in a memorable press conference at Middlesbrough, remaining persona non grata with many fans despite steadying the ship after a woeful start to the campaign, securing a third-place finish and winning the Europa League in addition to reaching the semi-finals of both domestic cup competitions.

Today he is back at Stamford Bridge with a Newcastle side that showed plenty of spirit in midweek to fight back from a two-goal deficit to claim a point at West Brom and halt a run of four straight defeats - Benitez's worst losing sequence as a top-flight manager.

Winners of only one of their last nine league games after a positive start to their maiden campaign back at this level after a one-year sojourn in the Championship, the Toon will attempt to end a stretch of 18 away Premier League matches without a victory and summon the spirit of May 2012, when two sensational goals from Papiss Cisse secured their first triumph on this ground for 26 years. They have failed to take three points on any of their other last 21 trips to these parts, however, while Benitez has been victorious on only one of 12 visits as an opposition manager.

It would be a surprise to see them take down a third-place Chelsea side that went unbeaten throughout November after toppling Swansea in midweek and have won five of their last six in the league, keeping plenty of clean sheets along the way. With Manchester City not in action until tomorrow and plenty of winnable games coming up between now and the New Year, this is their chance to start attempting to bridge the gap to the dominant leaders that now stands at 11 points.