Chelsea will take the long trip to Tyneside to take on Newcastle United at St. James’ Park looking to continue their winning start to the season. Maurizio Sarri has seen his side claim essential victories against Huddersfield Town and Arsenal respectively while scoring six goals in the process.
However, Rafael Benitez’s Magpies won’t be any push-overs as Tottenham Hotspur found out a couple of weeks back. They can prove to be a challenging assignment for Sarri’s players. It is expected that the Italian boss would stick with his 4-3-3 formation and might name the same side that saw off the Gunners at Stamford Bridge last weekend.
4-3-3 Chelsea Predicted Lineup To Face Newcastle United
Defence
The new summer arrival from Athletic Bilbao, Kepa Arrizabalaga will start for the West London team while Willy Caballero would play second fiddle on the bench. The centre-back pairing of David Luiz and Antonio Rüdiger should continue at the heart of the Chelsea defence after their impressive displays against Huddersfield Town and Arsenal this season. Marcos Alonso would operate as a left wing-back while César Azpilicueta fills up the right-back role on the other side.
Both Emerson Palmieri and Andreas Christensen are still waiting for their first league start of this new campaign, but with Sarri’s first-teamers in such great form, it would be hard for them to break into the current backline. However, the Blues conceded two cheap goals against the Gunners and could have shipped in even more if it wasn’t for Arsenal’s woeful finishing. Hence, they need to be wary of the Magpies attack as Rafael Benitez’s men has the potential to cause an upset on their day.
Midfield
The trio of N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Ross Barkley could start in the middle of the park, and they need to put on a solid performance if they are to keep the St. James’ Park crowd quiet on Sunday. All three of them has established a promising partnership in midfield and would once again be in for a stern test at Tyneside.
Cesc Fabregas is set to miss out on this clash, but Mateo Kovacic would be available on the bench.
Attack
Alvaro Morata is expected to get the nod ahead of Olivier Giroud after his goal-scoring heroics versus the Gunners last weekend, while Pedro looks to use his technical ability down the right flank. Willian would start on the left side of the Chelsea attack looking to register his first goal of the new season.
Eden Hazard would be on the bench as he probably still lacks enough match fitness to play from the start. Keep a lookout for the Belgian superstar as he can make a significant contribution for the Pensioners while coming off the bench.
