Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo has acknowledged that his team will need to defend well against a dangerous Newcastle side on Saturday.
The Magpies possess a talented line-up, with the likes of Demba Ba, Papiss Cisse and Hatem Ben Arfa having troubled even the best Premier League defences last season.
And Di Matteo expects Alan Pardew’s men to pose a big threat again this term.
“They have a lot of goals in their team with Demba Ba and Cisse, in midfield Ben Arfa and Yohan Cabaye, and Jonas Gutierrez scoring every now and then,” Di Matteo warned.
“It’s going to be a game when we have to defend very well. We certainly have to try to control Newcastle’s big threats when we can, because they are lethal at times.
“But we also want our players to express themselves and create chances.”
Chelsea sit top of the table after following their opening-day victory at Wigan with a midweek win against Reading.
But Newcastle may provide a stiffer test for the Blues, who have boosted their defensive options by completing the signing of right-back Cesar Azpilicueta from Marseille.
“The big challenge is to have the right balance,” said Di Matteo.
“We had all those offensive players on in the second half against Reading but we had to take the risk because we were losing the game.
“We might have been a little open but hopefully we won’t have to chase games all the time.”
He added: “We always have difficult games against Newcastle and they are a very good team with some great players.
“We haven’t beaten them at Stamford Bridge since 2007 so that tells you what kind of team they are.”
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This post was last modified on 25/08/2012