They will 'play as if it is the last game ever'

The pressure can be very, very high for a game like Newcastle and Chelsea this weekend.

It is that idea of it being a six-pointer - which is such a cliche thing - but it does matter at the end of the season because you know you are not going to play them again.

This is the moment to gain something or take away from the opponent. As a consequence, there is pressure on it.

The fans are aware of that. After this, they will only have two games left. So any sort of issues that come from losing this game, they know they will not really have the time to fix and will have to look elsewhere at results.

The teams being on the same amount of points right now just adds to that. So while there is pressure, it is more of an exciting pressure because you are playing for something really significant.

Both sides can still qualify for Champions League football but it is a great opportunity to get ahead of the other. With the quality they have, both teams will believe that if they finish this match in front, they will not be caught.

At this point of the season, results are definitive. Wherever clubs finish, they deserve to be there because they have been able to manage these moments and manage these big games.

Players going into this fixture know it will be tough because they are facing a team that is good as theirs with quality players and with difference-makers on the bench. They also know if they are playing away from home that the crowd is going to be hostile. Not just casually hostile, but ridiculously hostile, because they know how big the game is as well.

It is in the preparation. Both sides need to give themselves the best chance of playing as well as they can - individually and collectively - to get the win. Even though it is three points, it will feel bigger.

It is going to be pressure-packed, but it will be a great game of football because the players will play as if it is the last game they are ever going to play.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson