Alan Pardew believes his Newcastle United side have the confidence to end the unbeaten opening to the season for Barclays Premier League leaders Chelsea on Saturday.

Chelsea are yet to suffer defeat in any competition this season and travel to St James' Park six points clear of defending champions Manchester City at the top of the table.

Their superb start to the campaign has led many to ponder whether Jose Mourinho's men could replicate the feat of Arsenal, who went the entire 2003/04 season undefeated. However, history suggests that this weekend's trip to the north east represents a significant hurdle for Mourinho, as the Portuguese has never won a BPL match at St James'.

The London club were beaten 2-0 in the corresponding fixture last season, too, although the scorer of Newcastle's second goal on that day - Loic Remy - now plays for Chelsea.

Newcastle United approach this clash on a run of one defeat in their last nine matches in all competitions and, following a midweek 1-1 draw with an improving Burnley side, Pardew believes his players can find weaknesses in a formidable Chelsea team, who he believes will “slip up” at some point in the season.

"Mentally we are in a strong position and our confidence is high," Pardew said. "We have good spirit and are learning lessons along the way. We need to threaten Chelsea because they look terrific. They are a great team who are strong and organised. Somewhere along the line Chelsea will slip up and hopefully we can exploit any weaknesses they have."

Pardew is hoping that midfielder Moussa Sissoko will again have an impact against Chelsea, following on from his home debut in January 2013 when he scored two goals in Newcastle's 3-2 win over the Blues.

Sissoko returns following his red card in the 1-0 defeat at West Ham United and Pardew said: "Hopefully, he's learned his lesson.

"He's been outstanding and our best player, and actually been very effective against Chelsea. I know Jose will have one eye on him to make sure he doesn’t impact on the game. He's a big player for us."

But Newcastle's hopes of becoming the first team to beat Chelsea this term could be derailed by an injury crisis that has shown little sign of abating.

Captain Fabricio Coloccini is still struggling for fitness after missing the last two games with a calf problem, while goalkeeper Tim Krul remains out with an ankle complaint and winger Rolando Aarons is a doubt due to a hamstring issue. Ryan Taylor (knee) is sidelined, along with long-term absentees Gabriel Obertan and Siem de Jong (both thigh), as well as Davide Santon (knee).

Mourinho, meanwhile, can welcome back top scorer Diego Costa after the striker sat out Wednesday's 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur due to suspension, although Remy and Didier Drogba both scored in that comfortable victory.

Midfielder Nemanja Matic is banned, but defender Gary Cahill has shown no symptoms of concussion after sustaining a head injury versus Spurs and could be in contention to play.

Newcastle United (from): Alnwick, Elliot, Coloccini, Dummett, Haidara, Janmaat, Streete, S Taylor, Williamson, Aarons, Abeid, Anita, Bigirimana, Cabella, Colback, Sissoko, Tiote, Vuckic, Ameobi, Armstrong, Cisse, Ferreyra, Gouffran, Perez, Riviere.

Chelsea (from): Cech, Courtois, Schwarzer, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Christensen, Filipe, Ivanovic, Terry, Zouma, Fabregas, Hazard, Mikel, Oscar, Ramires, Salah, Willian, Costa, Drogba, Remy, Schurrle, Solanke.

BlackSEER:
chelshit will surely lose or draw.

keandre:
whch knd combo b this? mikel & fabregas

chimerase2:
na wicked combo nah



Game on

sweetsleek:
UP NEWCASTLE! !!!!!!!!!!

makzeze:
Newcastle. 1- Chelsea. 0

You wan cry abi?

chimerase2:
Mukina2 come put this tin on FP