Chelsea will be looking to register a third successive Premier League victory when they face Newcastle United at St James' Park this lunchtime, kick-off 12:30pm.
After signing off for the international with an emphatic 4-1 win over Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea know a victory over Steve Bruce's side will take them top of the Premier League on goal-difference, ahead of Leicester City, who are not in action until Sunday evening when they lock horns with Liverpool at Anfield.
Following an indifferent start to the campaign, the victory over Chris Wilder's Blades secured a fourth successive win in all competitions for the Blues, following earlier triumphs over FC Krasnodar, Burnley and French outfit Rennes.
As well as having won their last four matches, the Blues, who will resume their Champions League group stage campaign with a trip to Rennes on Tuesday evening, are unbeaten in their last eight matches, proving that they are now starting to find a successful formula following a stuttering start to the season.
One of the main successes for their solid recent run of form has been Frank Lampard's ability to call upon a fairly settled defensive line, with Reece James, Thiago Silva, Kurt Zouma and Ben Chilwell, as well as goalkeeper Edouard Mendy behind them, forming a terrific bond.
However, Lampard, who watched his side suffer a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle on their last visit to St James' Park, is set to be forced into disrupting that settled back-line against the Magpies, with Silva poised to miss out.
The former PSG and AC Milan defender only arrived back in England a couple of days ago after spending time in South America with the Brazil squad over the international break.
With time differences and travel time to take into consideration, Lampard, addressing the media on Thursday lunchtime, admitted that it was unlikely the veteran would not play any part.
Lampard said: "Thiago Silva has just landed. He just messaged me this afternoon so he probably won’t be going to Newcastle because of the length of the journey and timings."
Chelsea will also be unable to call upon USA international Christian Pulisic for the fourth game in succession as he continues to work his way back from a long-term hamstring problem.
"Christian Pulisic is not fit for Newcastle but he's stepped up his training slowly," Lampard confirmed. "It's quite a problematic injury so we'll stay cautious."
Elsewhere, Lampard may welcome summer signing Kai Havertz back into the team after he completed his self-isolation period after testing positive for Covid-19 prior to Chelsea's 3-0 win over Rennes earlier this month.
The Germany international, who has scored four goals for the club since his summer switch from Bayer Leverkusen, has been training on his own at Cobham in the build-up to the clash with Newcastle but could be included in the match-day squad, even if he is not fit enough to start.
Elsewhere, Chilwell should be available to start after overcoming a back problem he picked up in England's 2-0 defeat to Belgium last Sunday evening.
Full Chelsea squad available to face Newcastle United:
Goalkeepers: Edouard Mendy, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Willy Caballero, Karlo Ziger.
Defenders: Reece James, Cesar Azpilicueta, Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, Fikayo Tomori, Ben Chilwell, Marcos Alonso, Emerson Palmieri.
Midfielders: N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Strikers: Timo Werner, Tammy Abraham, Olivier Giroud.
