Right before the international break, Chelsea picked up a massive point by holding Manchester City to a 4-4 draw but they will need to back it up with a win against Newcastle United this coming weekend in the Premier League.
The Blues hit the road to take on the Magpies and three points could see them come within just one point of Eddie Howe’s team. On the other hand, a loss on Saturday, or even a draw, will most certainly push Chelsea to the bottom half of the table.
Chelsea have won just two out of their previous five matches but amongst these games, they have drawn against teams like Arsenal and Man City while winning against Spurs which just goes on to show that if the players put in their 100%, the London side have what it takes to get back into Europe next season.
Newcastle head into this weekend’s game at the back of two consecutive defeats in all competitions so the pressure will be on Howe’s team to come up with a top-class performance infront of their home fans. A point won’t be a bad result for the Magpies but Chelsea cannot afford another draw because they have already dropped points in eight of their 12 league matches.
Chelsea’s team news and injury updates:
Mauricio Pochettino is still without a long list of players but summer signings Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia are back in training which is a big boost for the Chelsea manager.
Some reports are claiming that the pair could be in line to face Newcastle United but we doubt if Poch is going to hand either of them starts. Even if they are available for selection, these two will only be good enough for the bench.
Players like Chukwuemeka, Wesley Fofana and Ben Chilwell are all ruled out for Saturday but Levi Colwill should be back in the squad after having missed international duty with England due to a shoulder injury.
Cucurella did a decent job at left-back in the Manchester City game so even if Colwill is ready, we think the Chelsea manager is going to keep using Marc in that role.
Up front, Nicolas Jackson is the current primary centre-forward for Chelsea and even though the Blues are actively looking for a new striker, Jackson is doing the job for the time being.
Despite so many injuries, Pochettino has finally settled down on a regular starting line up so we think he is going to name an unchanged side on Saturday at St James’ Park.
Chelsea predicted line up vs Newcastle United:
Predicted Starting line up(4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Disasi, Thiago Silva, James, Cucurella; Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Palmer, Gallagher, Raheem Sterling; Jackson.
