Eddie Howe defended Anthony Gordon's willingness to play ahead of Newcastle United facing Chelsea after Alan Shearer called it into question in midweek.
Gordon started Newcastle's Champions League last-16 first leg against Barcelona on the bench due to suffering from illness on the morning of the game, before coming on to help the Magpies earn a 1-1 draw.
But after the match, Newcastle legend Shearer questioned Gordon's mental toughness, something Howe was quick to shut down ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge.
"He was absolutely willing to play in the game," Howe said. "I know there was a lot of comments, but it was my decision not to start him.
"He was prepared to play, but in consultation with the medical team, we didn't think he was fit to start.
"Ant is a winner. He is a real competitor and has that streak to him that all top players need. I can only speak really glowingly of him this year.
"It hasn't been a straightforward season, but he is in his best mode currently and has adapted to a different role really well. There is plenty of pressure and media attention on him and rightly so because he is an England international."
Newcastle are currently 12th in the Premier League but are still pushing for a European place next season, having ended a run of two straight losses by beating Manchester United last time out in the league.
But they travel to Chelsea, who are pushing for a place in the top four, and currently sit fifth, just three points behind Aston Villa and United.
Chelsea romped to a 4-1 victory over Villa last time out, ending a three-game winless run in the league, but come into this match on the back of a 5-2 Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
Liam Rosenior remains without key players, though he is hopeful they are closing in on returns.
"Jamie [Gittens] is back, which is great," he said.
"Estevao is still further away; we want to be careful because of the nature of his hamstring injury. We don't want it re-occurring at a crucial stage of the season. We'll see what he's like for Tuesday's Champions League second leg."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chelsea – Joao Pedro
Only Erling Haaland (19) has scored more non-penalty goals in the Premier League this season than Joao Pedro (14), with only Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (19 in 2000-01) and Diego Costa (19 in 2014-15) ever netting more non-penalty goals in their debut Premier League season with Chelsea.
In 2026, the Brazilian leads all players in the competition for total goals (eight) and goal involvements (10 – also two assists).
Newcastle United – Sandro Tonali
Sandro Tonali has had more shots without scoring than any other player in the Premier League this season (28).
However, only seven of those attempts have been on target, while he has generated just 1.6 expected goals (xG) from his chances in the top-flight this term.
MATCH PREDICTION: CHELSEA WIN
Chelsea have won 11 of their last 12 Premier League home games against Newcastle (D1) since a 2-0 loss in May 2012 under Roberto Di Matteo.
However, Newcastle have avoided defeat in five of their last seven Premier League games against Chelsea (W3 D2 L2), more times than they had in their previous 15 (W3 D1 L11).
Newcastle have won 49 Premier League away games against London sides and could become the fourth non-London team to win 50 in the capital after Manchester United (81), Liverpool (79) and Manchester City (64). But the Magpies have lost more Premier League away games in London than any other side (94).
No team has scored in more different Premier League games than Chelsea this season (27), with their only two blanks coming in 0-0 draws with Crystal Palace in August and Bournemouth in December.
All four of Newcastle's away clean sheets in the Premier League this season have been in 0-0 draws. The last team to have more goalless draws on the road in a single campaign were Man Utd in 2020-21 (five).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Chelsea – 50.4%
Draw – 25.1%
Newcastle United – 24.5%
Philchetz
1
really good and bad 💯😔