Taylor has had his digs at Sunderland in the past, saying "I would rather be a stamp collector than a Sunderland fans", and he has taken the full wrath of their fans in Tyne-Wear derbies.
Steven Taylor (talking to the Chronicle): “I watched the game between Chelsea and Sunderland, but it’s going to be a completely different game when they play us.
“I’m sure Chelsea will be wanting to bounce back from last weekend, and with the players they’ve got, you have to respect them.
"They’ve got outstanding players like Diego Costa and Eden Hazard, and when you go through their team, there’s class right the way through.
“But this is at St James’ Park and we’ll be going out to play our game.
"We’re not really set up to be defensive and pull a lot of players behind the ball, and I’m not sure we’d want to do that.
"We’ll be playing our natural game and looking to be positive because that’s the way we play.”