It is the visitors who get things going at a very loud St James' Park.

The players are out on the pitch so the first of eight Premier League games today is about to get under way.

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Former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley is one of two bidders close to buying Sheffield Wednesday, with captain Barry Bannan saying the squad needs the "boost" of a takeover.

The Owls were placed in administration in October, which effectively ended Dejphon Chansiri's decade-long ownership of the Championship club.

Joint-administrator Kris Wigfield said in a statement on Friday that "periods of confidentiality are essential" but "genuine progress is being made" to name a preferred bidder.

That could come soon, according to Bannan.

"There should be a new owner coming in the next couple of days, hopefully," Bannan told BBC Sport. "We're looking forward to that, we see that the takeover's close.

"We definitely need it. We need a boost at the minute because we've lost a lot of games.

"It's hard to keep people going when you're losing games, but this could be the boost that we need."

Chelsea have won each of their last eight Premier League games in the Saturday 12:30 kick-off slot.

Only Manchester City have ever had a longer winning run in this exact slot in the competition (9 from May 2021 to Oct 2022).

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Newcastle United forward Yoane Wissa says it is "a privilege" to follow in the footsteps of the club's all-time leading goalscorer Alan Shearer by wearing the number nine shirt, after scoring his first goal for the Magpies against Fulham.

"It means a lot to me," Wissa told BBC Radio Newcastle after the match. "I received a text message from him [Alan Shearer] before the match, he wished me the best of luck because he knew I was going to start.

"It is something special. I know the number nine shirt is the best one here, so I just need to enjoy that.

"There is pressure that comes with it, but it is a privilege."

In the latest episode of The Wayne Rooney Show, ex-manager Sam Allardyce sat down for a wide-ranging chat about being a head coach in elite football.

The man affectionately known as Big Sam - who managed Newcastle, West Ham, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Everton and Leeds among others - breaks down the principles that sustained his career, why he regrets not confronting criticism of his playing style sooner and why he's encouraged by the league's evolution this season.

He also reflects on working with Wayne - how he wishes he'd managed him earlier and why he never wanted to sub him off, alongside sharing why he was so disappointed not to be given longer with the Toffees.

Plus, Allardyce also reveals some classic dressing room stories - from warning a player he had 30 minutes to save himself after a champagne night out, to urging Palace chairman Steve Parish to speak his mind to the squad after a bad defeat.

Watch The Wayne Rooney Show on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

Football Focus is live now on BBC One and online.

Alex Scott is joined by Nedum Onuoha and Glenn Murray to preview a busy weekend of Premier League football.

They ask if Aston Villa can mount a title challenge following their recent run of form, and they will also hear from Sunderland defender Dan Ballard on his impressive start to the season.

Plus a preview of the African Cup of Nations.

Ciaran Kelly
BBC Sport football news reporter at St James' Park

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There will be a degree of relief inside Newcastle United.

Defender Tino Livramento will be out for weeks, rather than months, after suffering a knee injury in the midweek win against Fulham.

But Eddie Howe's side are looking particularly light at the back ahead of the visit of Chelsea on Saturday with Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Kieran Trippier and Emil Krafth also currently sidelined.

Newcastle have money to spend and Eddie Howe has previously made a number of significant signings in January, including Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon, Burn and Trippier.

But it is a notoriously difficult window to strengthen in because clubs are even more reluctant to lose their best players as there is so little time left to find a replacement.

Any business Newcastle do would have to fall in line with their summer plan, and Howe warned against "fixing a short-term need to create a long-term problem" on Friday.

That was a reference to the club's defensive injury crisis, which could have eased by the time the window is in full swing.

The Christmas tunes are blasting out at St James' Park as kick-off approaches. Fans have been arriving looking pretty festive too.

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Noel Sliney
BBC Sport

Newcastle's defensive frailties have become cause for ongoing concern this season.

They started the campaign with five clean sheets in their opening seven league games but have conceded in each of their subsequent nine top-flight fixtures, shipping 15 goals. They haven't gone longer without a clean sheet since a 14-match streak in 2021, the last three of which came with Howe in charge.

The underlying numbers show that Newcastle are allowing their opponents significantly more shots and higher quality chances over the past nine games, while defensive errors have crept in and they're losing the ball more often within 40 metres of their own goal.

Injuries partly explain the defensive drop-off, with Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall becoming the latest casualties this week and joining Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Emil Krafth, Jamaal Lascelles, Kieran Trippier and goalkeeper Nick Pope on the sidelines.

Regardless, Newcastle remain a formidable side at St James' Park, as evidenced by a home run of eight wins and a draw from nine games. They've won their past three home league matches against Chelsea too.

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport Chelsea reporter

The rift between Enzo Maresca and his superiors is an open wound and continues to cause pain.

There has been no escalation of the Italian's original comments, but there are also no apologies and no resolution.

The mood at these news conferences has become awkward and jarring, and there is a fear it could undermine what has been a reasonable start to the season.

Chelsea are fourth in the Premier League, into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup and could avoid the play-off round of the Champions League by winning their last two league-phase matches.

But could this uncertainty begin to affect a squad that was just starting to look settled?

For now, it is only Maresca who is obliged to speak as a Premier League manager. There is no requirement for the ownership or senior figures at Stamford Bridge to comment. That leaves much unsaid publicly and space for speculation to grow.

Noel Sliney
BBC Sport

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Chelsea's form has also been patchy of late but, unlike Newcastle, they've had no problem keeping Premier League clean sheets – making it five in their past seven matches with Saturday's 2-0 win over Everton.

That was their first league victory in four attempts but it was a cryptic post-match outburst by head coach Enzo Maresca that created the headlines. "The last 48 hours have been the worst 48 hours since I joined the club, because many people didn't support us," he said last weekend.

Maresca has since refused to clarify his remarks amid speculation they were aimed at the club's hierarchy for failing to publicly support him amid criticism of his rotation policy during the team's recent dip in form.

The Italian said on Tuesday, after Chelsea's Carabao Cup win at Cardiff, that he had not spoken to the owners or any member of the leadership team since his comments.

Maresca is closing in on a third major trophy with Chelsea, but a potential Carabao Cup final outing on 22 March feels a long way away in the current climate.

Both teams won in the Carabao Cup in midweek, but it feels like Newcastle's squad is being stretched more at the moment.

There is a worry for Chelsea too, though, in terms of what is happening with Enzo Maresca.

He is obviously unhappy about something, and if there is some sort of infighting going on, or if he feels he is not being backed properly, then that does not bode well regardless of what happens on the pitch.

I certainly don't think Maresca's issues are with his team's performances. His side are very principled in the way they play and they will cause Newcastle problems.

I am still going to go with the Magpies to win it, though.

I usually back them at home anyway, but this is prediction is mainly based on Chelsea's recent record at St James' Park, which is poor - they have not got anything there since 2021.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Ciaran Kelly
BBC Sport reporter at St James' Park

Nick Woltemade starts as Newcastle United make four changes for the visit of Chelsea to St James’ Park.

The German forward, Lewis Hall, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon all come into the side following the midweek win against Fulham.

Newcastle starting line-up: Ramsdale, Miley, Schar, Thiaw, Hall, Guimaraes, Tonali, Ramsey, Murphy, Woltemade, Gordon

Subs: Ruddy, Joelinton, Wissa, Barnes, Elanga, A.Murphy, Willock, Shahar, Neave

Chelsea star Cole Palmer is among ten players who have been recalled by manager Enzo Maresca for the trip to St James’.

Moises Caicedo is the only survivor from the midweek Carabao Cup quarter-final win at Cardiff City.

Robert Sanchez, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella, Reece James, Pedro Neto, Palmer, Alejandro Garnacho and Joao Pedro have all been restored to the starting line-up.

Chelsea starting line-up: Sanchez, Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella, James, Caicedo, Neto, Palmer, Garnacho, Pedro

Subs: Jorgensen, Acheampong, Badiashile, Tosin, Hato, Andrey Santos, Buonanotte, Fernandez, Guiu