Chelsea will lock horns with Newcastle United at St. James’ Park this Saturday evening as they look to secure a good result away from home in the Premier League. The Blues suffered a poor 2-0 loss away at Manchester City in the EFL Cup recently, so they would be desperate to put in a better performance this weekend.
Graham Potter will opt for a 3-5-2 formation and could be inclined to make some changes to his first XI for this game. Both Thiago Silva and Mason Mount are expected to play from the start in this crucial league contest at Tyneside.
3-5-2 Chelsea Predicted Lineup To Face Newcastle United
Defence
Edouard Mendy will retain his spot in goal for the Blues after shipping in a couple of goals in his last outing. Potter could name a back three of Trevoh Chalobah, Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly for this game on Saturday as they try to keep the Magpies at bay during the 90 minutes.
Reece James will definitely miss this clash due to injury. However, Cesar Azpilicueta will offer cover for the defensive positions on the Chelsea bench.
Midfield
Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, who is a major doubt for this game, and Mason Mount will operate as the central midfielders for the Blues as they try to establish their dominance over the opposition in the middle of the park.
Mount will be the one looking to create some decent chances for his teammates in the final third.
Marc Cucurella will function as the left wing-back while Ruben Loftus-Cheek fills in as a makeshift right wing-back. Both of them would be instructed to drive to the byline and offer some decent service to the Chelsea front players inside the Newcastle penalty box.
Conor Gallagher has to settle for a spot on the bench as he awaits his chance to shine as a second-half substitute if Potter decides to call upon his services.
Attack
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Raheem Sterling will lead the line for the Blues up top. Both of them have to figure out a way to cause some headaches for the opposition defenders and get their names on the scoresheet this weekend.
Armando Broja will drop to the bench after failing to impress against Man City earlier this week. He could come on to make an impact in the latter stages of this contest if the West London club are in need of a goal by then.