Newcastle may be winless and already on the precipice of crisis this season but there is no team whom Jose Mourinho would less like to visit. St James's Park is one of just two Premier League stadiums at which the self-proclaimed 'Special One' has never won, the other being the Emirates Stadium (though he did pick up a 2-0 victory at Highbury in Arsenal's final season at the ground).
Even when the Magpies have been in appalling form, still he has struggled. In his five visits, Newcastle have won on three occasions and he has seen his usually resolute side concede three times as many goals as they have scored. Even last season, when the unbeaten Blues were rampant, having picked up 36 points from a possible 42, still they came unstuck in the north east.
"There are a few stadiums in this country where, clearly, when they see the Chelsea shirts, they play the game of their lives," said Mourinho of his bogey team last season. "When they play against other teams they look like they're playing friendlies."
But Mourinho can afford no more slips-up and especially not against a side who were knocked out of the League Cup by Sheffield Wednesday. If results go their way, they could be a mere five points behind leaders Manchester City and back in a title race that was prematurely written off. It may seem like an innocuous enough fixture, a giant against a minnow, but shaking this particular monkey off their backs could be decisive in Chelsea's season.
Mourinho can at least take some solace too from the curse of the 'P's having been lifted at last. Up until this month, all of the Portuguese's last six league defeats had come from managers whose surnames began with said letter, though that run was ended by Roberto Martinez and Everton. Next up, another 'M': Steve McClaren. Could a new hoodoo emerge?
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