Eddie Howe’s men have not tasted victory in their last four Premier League matches. However, a 3-1 loss to Fulham in mid-September was followed by a 1-1 draw with high-flying Manchester City and the Geordies will feel they deserved to win their other two fixtures.

Newcastle had 68 per cent possession during a 0-0 draw with Everton and dominated Brighton & Hove Albion for large spells of their game last weekend, creating double the amount of chances and had a far superior xG (expected goals), but ultimately lost 1-0 to Danny Welbeck’s first-half goal.

On Sunday, Chelsea welcome a Magpies side who are three places and two points below the Blues in the Premier League table, and the Blues head coach is not expecting an easy afternoon's work.

Maresca said: ‘Newcastle are very clear: they are physically strong, they are very good. They have been unlucky, especially in the last game against Brighton, but overall they have deserved more points and the way they work over the years together is quite clear.

‘I really like Newcastle and probably this is the moment when teams can do something good when they are in a difficult moment.’

We are currently sixth in the Premier League, three points below third-placed Arsenal, having secured good wins over Brighton & Hove Albion (4-2), West Ham United (3-0), Bournemouth (1-0) and Wolves (6-2), plus 1-1 draws against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.

Last Sunday's trip to Liverpool started a run of Premier League fixtures that sees the Blues face Newcastle, Manchester United and Arsenal before the next international window.

However, Maresca highlighted how last weekend’s top-flight fixtures – which saw Bournemouth beat Arsenal and Manchester City require a 95th-minute winner against Wolves – were further proof of the difficulty every Premier League match provides.

Maresca said: ‘In the end, we have to play against every team. Now we have played Liverpool and we have games against Newcastle United, Manchester United and Arsenal, but I also thought in the previous games against teams like Bournemouth and Wolves that it showed the Premier League is always tough.

'You can see that with teams like Bournemouth and Wolves last weekend. It is very difficult against all the teams so game-by-game we are going to do our best.’