Chelsea boss Avram Grant sprang a major surprise when he made five changes to the side which reached the Champions League final for this afternoon's Barclays Premier League trip to Newcastle.
Anfield penalty hero Frank Lampard was named only among the substitutes along with Joe Cole, as Ashley Cole, Claude Makelele and Salomon Kalou also made way.
Paulo Ferreira, Wayne Bridge, Mikel John Obi, Florent Mikel and Nicolas Anelka were included as the Blues went is search of the victory they needed to give themselves a chance of overhauling fellow title contenders Manchester United next weekend.
Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan was able to name what what was his strongest line-up in recent weeks, with Abdoulaye Faye's return from a groin injury in place of David Edgar the only change.
Chelsea matched their hosts' 4-3-3 shape as Malouda and Anelka joined forces with Didier Drogba in a potent-looking frontline.
The game kicked off with the home crowd knowing the visitors had not won a league game at St James' Park since December 2001, and with the Magpies' relegation fears a distant memory, there was little or no pressure on them.
Michael Essien and Joey Barton were both left limping after an early 50-50, and the Chelsea man was still off the pitch for treatment when the home side got their first chance to threaten from a free-kick.
However, Blues old boy Geremi was woefully off target with his effort from 30 yards.
But Newcastle got behind the Chelsea defence with six minutes gone when Nicky Butt collected Jose Enrique's throw-in to feed Michael Owen, who ran away from England team-mate John Terry but lifted his first-time shot high over the bar.
Martins failed to trouble Petr Cech with a weak shot after a tricky 10th-minute run, but Habib should have done better after muscling his way past Bridge four minutes later only to drive his cross harmlessly across goal.
The Magpies were making life uncomfortable for the visitors, but they gradually started to force their way into the game, although Bridge wasted a good opportunity when he blasted a 19th-minute free-kick straight into the wall after Barton had fouled Essien.
Newcastle's pressing game was frustrating Chelsea as they struggled to get star man Drogba into the game, while Anelka was seeing plenty of the ball, but wide on the right.
Anelka managed to force his way past Butt on the edge of the penalty area after 27 minutes, but his threaded pass was cut out by Faye.
But Keegan's men came agonisingly close to taking the lead two minutes later after Martins caused havoc in the Chelsea box.
The Nigerian's chest control allowed Mark Viduka to stab in a shot which Cech blocked, and Owen seemed certain to convert the rebound - but was denied by a superb goal-line clearance from Terry.
The Blues' skipper was booked for a 34th-minute challenge on Owen, although his displeasure at referee Steve Bennett's decision was understandable.
His side could have gone ahead seconds later when Essien's pass left Michael Ballack in acres of space inside the Newcastle box, but he sliced his left-foot shot from a narrowing angle wide.
Anelka drilled a long-range effort just off target as the visitors started to increase their tempo, but the home side held firm.
Beye got a rare sight of goal in the final minute of the half when Terry could only half-clear Martins' left-wing cross, but the full-back sliced his effort.
Keegan made a change at the break when Viduka, who has been struggling with an Achilles problem, failed to reappear and was replaced by Alan Smith.
Ferreira found himself under intense pressure within two minutes when Enrique played the ball down the line for Martins to chase, although Bennett rescued him by awarding a free-kick as the pair made contact.
With Lampard and Joe Cole warming up on the sidelines, Chelsea set about the task of trying to force their way ahead once again, and they had a chance when Faye conceded a 50th-minute corner.
Ricardo Carvalho met Malouda's corner under pressure from Faye and Harper, but could not hit the target.
The visitors came desperately close to the opening goal with 53 minutes gone after Steven Taylor was forced to clear hurriedly from Ballack.
Malouda curled the resulting corner to the near post where Terry arrived to thunder a header against the bar - and the home side just about managed to smuggle the loose ball away.
Newcastle simply could not force their way out of their own half, and it was all they could do to repel wave after wave of attacks from the Londoners.
But they were finally breached on the hour when, after Faye had tripped Malouda, Ballack got ahead of Smith to head home Drogba's free-kick.
Lampard joined the fray after 66 minutes as a replacement for Anelka, and was applauded warmly by both sets of fans.
Geremi, who had earlier driven a free-kick from a promising position into the wall, was replaced by Damien Duff after 71 minutes, and his side were almost back on terms twice within seconds.
First Carvalho deflected a Martins shot inches wide with Cech stranded, and then Owen only just failed to get a touch on Nicky Butt's mishit effort in front of goal.
Taylor had to block Lampard's shot at the other end and Harper made a smart save from Ballack's driven follow-up as the game opened up.
Alex replaced the injured Carvalho with 79 minutes gone, but Malouda wrapped up the win with a need 82nd-minute finish from Lampard's pass.
