Chelsea closed the gap on Premier League leaders Manchester City to eight points this afternoon courtesy of a 3-1 victory over Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge.
The Magpies took a shock lead early in the first half when Dwight Gayle capitalised on a defensive mix-up, but Chelsea had turned the game around by half time through goals from Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata.
Hazard then capped a man-of-the-match performance with his second from the penalty spot as the champions moved level on points with second-place Manchester United.
Find out how all of the action unfolded courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute coverage below.
This is a good chance for Chelsea to temporarily gain ground on those above them in the table, with victory drawing them level with second-place Manchester United, who face a difficult trip to the Emirates this afternoon. Newcastle are in poor form at the moment, so the hosts will certainly be favourites to win, but Rafael Benitez would relish the chance to come away with something on his first return to Stamford Bridge since leaving as Chelsea boss.
We will take a closer look at all the stories and sub-plots a little later, but first let's check out the team news...
Well, starting with the hosts the headline news is that Eden Hazard and Cesar Azpilicueta both return to the starting XI having been rested during the midweek win over Swansea, with Hazard introduced as a late sub and Azpilicueta unused from the bench.
Azpilicueta had started 74 consecutive Premier League games before Wednesday, so his omission came as something of a surprise, but he returns to the back three this afternoon.
Morata is, of course, well used to playing that role himself and with eight Premier League goals to his name already this season he will fancy his chances of getting on the scoresheet again today.
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The Nigerian will play in his right wing-back role as Zappacosta drops to the bench. Danny Drinkwater is included from the start in midfield too alongside Fabregas and Kante, while Bakayoko once again only makes the bench.
In all, there have been four changes from the midweek win over Swansea, with Azpilicueta, Moses, Drinkwater and Hazard replacing Cahill, Zappacosta, Willian and Pedro.
Javier Manquillo, Mo Diame and Dwight Gayle all return to the side having been dropped in midweek, with Yedlin, Hayden and Joselu the men to make way at Stamford Bridge.
Benitez looks set to match up with Chelsea's 3-5-2 system, with Mbemba, Clark and Lejeune backing up that defensive trio in the continued absence of captain Jamaal Lascelles.
The only attacking player to have matched that tally in the Premier League this season is Joselu, who starts on the bench this afternoon. Gayle is the man entrusted with leading the line, although it could be a lonely job for much of the game.
The Magpies do have some powerful runners and tricky players that are capable of hitting Chelsea on the break, though, with Murphy, Merino, Diame and Ritchie all capable of leading a counter-attack if and when the opportunity arises.
Manchester City's form is impossible to live with right now, but Chelsea must ensure that they keep winning themselves just in case Pep Guardiola's side slip up at any point. City have been close to dropping points on a few occasions in recent games, and it is imperative that the chasing pack capitalise when that does eventually occur.
Perhaps just as importantly, they would also temporarily move six points clear of fifth-place Liverpool, and unless City's form slows down then it may well end up just being a battle for those remaining Champions League places this season.
The Blues do go into the game in good form, though. They have won five and lost none of their last six Premier League outings, taking 16 points from a possible 18 in that time and keeping four clean sheets in the process. The only match they have failed to win in that time was the 1-1 draw with Liverpool last weekend.
Another victory today would make it five in a row for the first time this season, and they have won the past two by a 1-0 margin, beating Manchester United and Swansea.
Antonio Conte's side have amassed 16 points from seven away games compared to 13 from the same number of home games, while they have also scored fewer and conceded more goals here at Stamford Bridge.
If only home form counted this season then Chelsea would sit fifth in the table, whereas if the same way true away from home then the Blues would be second, behind only Manchester City.
The champions' upcoming fixtures suggest another winning run could be due too, with Chelsea facing Newcastle, West Ham, Huddersfield, Southampton, Everton, Brighton and Stoke between now and the end of the year. Of those, only 10th-placed Brighton currently reside in the top half of the table, and Chelsea would expect maximum points from all of those games.
The Magpies made a bright start to the campaign and at one point strung together a run of three consecutive wins, but they have won just one of their nine Premier League games since then, with three draws and five defeats in that time.
The Magpies looked on course for a fifth consecutive defeat when they fell 2-0 down against the Baggies, but they quickly halved the deficit again and a Jonny Evans own goal completed the comeback late on as Newcastle ended their run of defeats. A comeback like that could well be enough to galvanize them into a spell of improved form, but this is not the ideal match to have straight after it.
Indeed, should they pull off a shock victory today then they would climb back into the top half temporarily at least, although a draw would not be enough for them to move position by virtue of their goal difference.
Newcastle had scored just once in their four-match losing streak before the 2-2 draw with West Brom, and throughout the whole season only two teams outside the bottom four have scored fewer goals. Newcastle have averaged less than a goal per game so far, which is something they will need to improve on.
Away struggles in the Premier League are nothing new for Newcastle, though - they have won just one of their last 18 Premier League away games stretching back to December 2015, losing 13 of those for a pretty measly tally of seven points from a possible 54 in that time.
Benitez built up a fierce rivalry with Chelsea during his time at Liverpool, and then controversial took over as interim boss at the Blues in late 2012 - much to the chagrin of the Chelsea fans. This is his first return to Stamford Bridge since his seven-month stint as manager came to an end, with his last game seeing Chelsea win the Europa League title.
© SilverHub
His solitary win as a visiting boss here came more than nine years ago, when Jose Bosingwa's own goal handed Liverpool a 1-0 win in October 2008.
I can only see this game going one way. Chelsea are in good form whereas Newcastle are not, and the home advantage only increases the likelihood of Chelsea victory. The champions may have made harder work of Swansea than many expected, but they have Hazard back available for this one and that should help them cruise to victory.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Chelsea 3-0 Newcastle
Chelsea have won 15 of their 22 home Premier League games against Newcastle, by contrast, including each of the last four.
Indeed, only against Tottenham Hotspur have Chelsea won more home Premier League games than against Newcastle.
CHELSEA STARTING XI: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen; Moses, Kante, Drinkwater, Fabregas, Alonso; Hazard, Morata
NEWCASTLE STARTING XI: Darlow; Mbemba, Clark, Lejeune; Manquillo, Murphy, Merino, Diame, Ritchie; Perez, Gayle
A defensive mix-up sees Alonso sell Courtois short with a back-pass from the edge of his own box - something which was dangerous anyway considering how crowded things were around there. Murphy is quickly on to it but Courtois beats him to the ball, getting two hands to it. However, it then falls straight to the feet of Gayle, who is left with a simple finish into the empty net.
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Lejeune is at full stretch to cut out a cross before it can reach Morata, but his clearance only falls to Hazard, whose shot goes into the ground and bounces up past Darlow and into the far corner. It had been coming.
7 - Eden Hazard has been directly involved in seven goals in his eight Premier League appearances against Newcastle (five goals, two assists). Schemer. pic.twitter.com/1rdo4tGvot
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 2, 2017
HAZARD LEVELS! It's Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.
— Sky Sports PL (@SkySportsPL) December 2, 2017
Watch on Sky Sports Premier League! https://t.co/vmQ228r0LO
Victor Moses advances down the right flank before drilling a powerful cross into the box which takes a deflection on the way through. Lejeune cannot cut it out and Mbemba is far too weak when tussling with Morata, who reacts well to steer the ball home from close range. It looked like a simple finish, but the ball arrived at such pace that the Spaniard did well to convert it.
© SilverHub
Álvaro Morata has now scored 11 header goals in Europe's top-five leagues since the start of last season, more than any other player (Icardi, Belotti 10) #CHENEW
— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) December 2, 2017
It was a slow start from the hosts and they were punished accordingly, but Newcastle's opener only served to spark Chelsea into life and they dominated from that stage on to take a deserved lead into the break.
Marcos Alonso's back-pass sold Courtois short, and the keeper was only able to nudge the ball into the path of Gayle under pressure from Murphy. That left Gayle with a simple finish into an empty net, stunning Stamford Bridge in the process.
Christensen hit the post moments before Hazard restored parity, with the Belgian firing an effort into the ground and bouncing past Darlow. Lejeune had failed to adequately clear his lines when cutting out a cross from Azpilicueta, but Hazard still had a lot to do.
Again Newcastle had the chance to deal with the danger with both Lejeune and Mbemba in front of Morata, but both appeared to duck under the ball rather than cutting it out and risking an own goal.
The spot kick was an easy decision for the referee as Ritchie brought down Moses inside the area, and while Hazard's penalty was not exactly a textbook Panenka, Darlow guessed the wrong way.
The gap to leaders Manchester City is also cut to eight points courtesy of the victory, which saw Dwight Gayle give Newcastle a shock early lead before a brace from the brilliant Hazard either side of a Morata header turned things around for the champions.
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's early kickoff as Chelsea beat Newcastle United to move level on points with second-place Manchester United. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it's goodbye for now!