Newcastle United expected starting XI at Chelsea - with FOUR changes and Joelinton decision
Newcastle United are in action for the second time in four days with a difficult trip to Chelsea.
But there is nothing to fear for Eddie Howe’s side, who are riding a crest of a wave in the Premier League at the moment.
Thursday night’s 2-1 win at Southampton, where Chris Wood and Bruno Guimaraes were on the scoresheet, extended the club’s unbeaten run to nine matches.
That opened up a 10-point advantage over the relegation zone. United sit on 31 points, a tally that would have been enough for safety last season.
Howe is expected to rotate his starting XI for the visit to Stamford Bridge to deal with the physical demand of Southampton and now Chelsea.
On facing Thomas Tuchel’s side, Howe said: “It’s a very special place to play football.
“They have top players, the stadium is quite close to the pitch, there’s a really good atmosphere and they’ve got a top manager.
“I’ve got a huge amount of respect for Thomas (Tuchel), he’s done an incredible job. We’ll need to be at our very best.
“It’s an incredibly difficult ground to get anything from. It’s that kind of game where you need to get everything right or you won’t get anything from it.”
Here, we take a look at the Newcastle United starting XI Howe could name against Chelsea:
That opened up a 10-point advantage over the relegation zone. United sit on 31 points, a tally that would have been enough for safety last season.
5. LB: Matt Targett
Targett’s impact following his loan move from Aston Villa cannot be undervalued. He too is also on Gareth Southgate’s England radar.
6. CM: Bruno Guimaraes
The wait was worth the wait as Bruno marked his full debut with an extraordinary winning goal against Southampton on Thursday night. He later went off with cramp, but there is hope he’ll recover to face Chelsea.
7. CM: Joe Willock
Bruno stole the headlines at Southampton but Howe was quick to single out Willock for praise, labelling his display on the South Coast as “immense”. The midfielder is naturally fit, so the quick turnaround shouldn’t be a problem.
8. CM: Joelinton (in for Jonjo Shelvey)
CM: Joelinton (in for Jonjo Shelvey) The Brazilian missed the game against Southampton with a groin tweak but has travelled with the squad that stayed down south after Thursday’s trip.