Guus Hiddink will look to extend his unbeaten second stint at Chelsea to 11 matches when his side host Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Just six points separate the two sides in the table, with Chelsea sitting 13th and Newcastle now out of the relegation zone and one point clear of danger.
Chelsea
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Over his two stints as interim Chelsea manager, Hiddink has still been beaten only once in all competitions having begun his second spell at Stamford Bridge with a 10-game unbeaten run.
However, while he has at least stopped the club from losing matches - their last defeat came in Jose Mourinho's final match in charge against Leicester City on December 14 - wins have been relatively hard to come by in that time too.
The Blues have won four and drawn six of their 10 games under the Dutchman, which has kept them lying in the bottom half of the table, now 17 points adrift of the Champions League places and only seven clear of the bottom three.
They have won just twice in their eight Premier League outings, and bigger tests are on the horizon in Europe, with Ligue 1's runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain once again awaiting Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday.
In truth, it may be a good thing that the first leg of that last-16 tie comes away from home, with Hiddink still awaiting his first Premier League victory at Stamford Bridge this season, while his side have not conceded a single league goal on the road under his tenure.
It took a stoppage-time equaliser to keep what is the current longest unbeaten run in the Premier League going last Sunday, with Diego Costa slotting home in the 91st minute to rescue a 1-1 draw for his side at home to Manchester United.
It was Costa's sixth goal in his last seven Premier League appearances having managed just three in his previous 14 before that, and his revival has perhaps been the biggest highlight of Hiddink's reign so far.
The match was notable for a couple of other reasons too. John Terry made his first Stamford Bridge appearance since announcing that he would be leaving at the end of the season, and after the match insisted that there was "no communication" between himself and the club - although circumstances may have changed following the injury Kurt Zouma picked up in the same game.
The young centre-back suffered a wince-inducing ACL injury that is expected to keep him sidelined for the next six months, ruling him out for the rest of the season and this summer's European Championship in his home country.
Chelsea have failed to win on the four occasions that Zouma has not started a Premier League game this season, drawing two, losing two and conceding 10 goals in the process.
They will go into the game as favourites this weekend, though, and victory would see them move within striking distance of the top half of the table, where they have not been since August.
Recent form: WDDWDD
Recent form (all competitions): DDWWDD
Newcastle
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You would have got long odds at the start of the season for Newcastle having the chance to close the gap to Chelsea to three points in the 26th game of the campaign.
Unfortunately for the Magpies, in this season of unpredictability their plight was perhaps one of the easier things to call back in the summer.
Steve McClaren's men are embroiled in another relegation battle, although things are looking a lot more positive this week than they were just seven days ago.
At that point, Newcastle were in the relegation zone and had suffered back-to-back defeats, but a 1-0 victory over a disappointing West Bromwich Albion side saw them return to winning ways and climb out of the bottom three last weekend.
The gap is still only an uneasy one point to Norwich City, but Newcastle are a side who seem to be on an upward trend, buoyed by their January arrivals, while Norwich can't seem to buy a point at the moment.
The Magpies also boast a very impressive record against Chelsea in recent years, taking 13 points off the Blues in the last five seasons - more than any other team.
However, they are also in dreadful form away from home, losing each of their last five games on the road in all competitions and scoring just one goal in that time.
Indeed, in the last 12 months Newcastle have won just two of their 20 away games in all competitions, losing 16 of those and scoring a meagre eight goals in the process.
A league-low six of those goals have come this season, where only rock-bottom Aston Villa have a worse away record.
Recent form: LDWLLW
Recent form (all competitions): LDWLLW
Team News
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As already mentioned, Zouma will not feature again until next season following his ligament injury against Man Utd, so Gary Cahill will come in for the Frenchman.
Elsewhere, Radamel Falcao and Alexandre Pato remain out, with the latter still working his way up to match fitness, but Loic Remy could be in line for a place on the bench following a calf strain.
Eden Hazard has started the last two matches on the bench and will be hopeful of a return this weekend, which could see Cesc Fabregas drop further back and Nemanja Matic miss out.
Newcastle, meanwhile, have the longest injury list in the league, with as many as 14 players currently sidelined, forcing McClaren to take some risks with his selection against West Brom.
Fortunately for the Magpies there were no major setbacks against the Baggies, with the only new concern being over Daryl Janmaat, who is expected to shake off a dead leg in time to feature.
Jack Colback could make his return from a hamstring strain, while Siem de Jong is also rated 50-50 and could be named in the squad.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Mikel, Fabregas, Willian, Oscar, Hazard; Costa
Newcastle possible starting lineup:
Elliot; Janmaat, Taylor, Coloccini, Aarons; Shelvey, Colback, Sissoko, Wijnaldum, Townsend; Mitrovic
Head To Head
Newcastle have been something of a bogey team for Chelsea in recent seasons, winning four of their last eight meetings, including a Papiss Cisse-inspired 2-0 triumph at Stamford Bridge in May 2012.
Chelsea have not won any of the last 12 meetings in all competitions if they failed to keep a clean sheet, although they have stopped Newcastle from scoring on their last three visits to Stamford Bridge.
The reverse fixture in September almost saw Newcastle claim yet another win over the Blues, but a late comeback from Mourinho's men saw Chelsea score twice in the final 11 minutes to rescue a 2-2 draw.
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We say: Chelsea 2-1 Newcastle
Newcastle are playing with a little more belief at the moment, but their away record is too poor to ignore. Chelsea themselves haven't been great at home under Hiddink, but with Costa in form and the potential return of Hazard to the starting XI, they should have enough about them to pick up a win.
Barney Corkhill
