Graham Potter delivers glowing Chelsea verdict on Newcastle & Eddie Howe

Graham Potter has delivered a glowing verdict on Newcastle and Eddie Howe as Chelsea prepare for their Premier League clash on Saturday.

The Blues face a tough test against the Magpies this weekend but they need to come away from the game with a positive result.

In recent weeks the form has not been good enough for Chelsea, Potter’s side are without a win in their last four in the Premier League.

They drew against both Brentford and Manchester United and things have only got worse since then.

The west London outfit then went on to lose against Potter’s former team, Brighton, in embarrassing fashion.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side were 4-1 victors, and last weekend more misery was piled on as Chelsea suffered a 1-0 defeat against London rivals Arsenal.

Currently, they sit seventh in the table and will be looking to close up to their opposition on Saturday who are in third.

It has been a stellar start to the season for Newcastle who have only lost once so far in the league.

They have only dropped points twice at home, and they both came relatively early on in the campaign.

With this game the final one before the players head off for the World Cup in Qatar, both sides will be hoping for a positive result.

Chelsea need a bounce-back win, but it will be tricky considering the amount of players who are currently injured.

The likes of Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell and Kepa Arrizabalaga are all still out of the squad and it has made it very challenging for Potter.

When these players were fit, the Blues were thriving under Potter, but it has all fallen away.

After the recent poor form, the 47-year-old head coach has admitted he would be naive if he did not expect to receive scrutiny after joining.

He is going through his toughest phase with the club since he arrived back in September to replace Thomas Tuchel.

How things are going at Chelsea at the moment is the polar opposite to Newcastle, who Potter shared his admiration for.

In his pre-match press conference he said: "I think it's more a reflection of the job they've done. I think Eddie has done a fantastic job.

“He has improved the players that were there, improved the team with some really good recruitment – they've spent some money to reinforce the team.

“I could speak for half an hour about how good I think Eddie is as a person and as a coach. I have huge admiration for him, and he has galvanised the team, and there is fantastic support there at St James' Park."