Eddie Howe has been talking ahead of Newcastle v Chelsea.
The final Premier League match before Christmas, a 12.30pm kick-off at St James’ Park on Saturday.
Chelsea are currently fourth in the table and Newcastle United will move within three points of them with a win.
The last nine home matches in all competitions, have brought Newcastle eight wins and one draw.
The latest of those St James’ Park victories sending United through to the Carabao Cup semis.
A win over Chelsea would give Newcastle further confidence and momentum heading into a rare six day break between matches.
An otherwise relentless run of matches in a packed schedule for Newcastle United, playing every midweek as well as every weekend.
Eddie Howe speaking ahead of Newcastle v Chelsea – 19 December 2025:
“They are a very good team, so we will have to be very good.
“It is a short recovery time for us, so it is a big challenge this week, but we are looking forward to that.
“We like the early kick-offs, we like playing at home, so anything we can do to swing it in our direction is important.”
Eddie Howe on the Carabao Cup semi-final draw:
“I don’t think there was an ideal draw for us with the quality of the teams left.
“Our preference would have been to play at home in the second leg as we did last year.
“That was the bigger thing rather than the opponent.
“It is what it is, we’re in a major competition and you’re going to play the top teams.
“We had to do that last year and we’re going to have to do the same again.”
Eddie Howe on Lewis Miley:
“Lewy did really well on Wednesday.
“Really pleased with him.
“Great goal, great composure and a strong performance.
“Every game is so different tactically, the challenges posed by every team is different, so I’ll have to try to pick the right team.”
Eddie Howe on Alex Murphy:
“In an important moment for the team, Alex did really well.
“He’s trained with us for a long time but hasn’t had any major game exposure with us.
“He’s had a lot of training time, a lot of development and a good loan spell.
“He’s someone we trust and performances like that will do him good for the long term.”
Eddie Howe on Tino Livramento:
“We don’t think it’s a serious injury.
“The complication we have is that Tino has injured that knee before in a very similar area.
“That always makes the potential recovery time a little bit longer.
“I don’t think we’ll see him possibly before 2026.”
Eddie Howe on Lewis Hall:
“He could be available for tomorrow.
“He felt some fatigue in his hamstring after the Sunderland game, so he had a scan which didn’t reveal too much, so we’ll see.”