Newcastle United’s starting XI vs Chelsea: Eddie Howe makes shock Callum Wilson decision

Callum Wilson is on the bench as Newcastle United take on Chelsea this evening (kick-off 7:45pm). Eddie Howe names two changes from the side that won 4-1 at Southampton last Sunday, with Chris Wood in for Wilson and Joelinton in for Jacob Murphy.

The Magpies No.9 has suffered from illness this week and has trained separately from his teammates. Howe has opted against starting the 30-year-old, who was called up to England’s 26-man World Cup squad on Thursday alongside Kieran Trippier and Nick Pope.

Joelinton was suspended against Southampton but reclaims his spot on the left wing. Miguel Almiron continues on the right, and will be aiming to score his eighth goal in as many games.

“We’re hopeful to continue our good form and momentum,” Howe said on Friday. “We know it’s going to be a really difficult game. I really like Graham Potter and I’ve got a lot of respect for him. His teams always, tactically, give you a problem so we’re going to need to deal with that.

“They’ve got world-class players but we have to make sure we continue our excellent intensity levels and the crowd play a part because I think that’s been a big weapon for us here.

“We want to win. We want to try and get as many points as we can. The players have done really well in consistently being able to produce not just the performances but the results we’ve wanted. We’re under no illusions of how difficult this task will be so we’re going to need our highest level of performance to win.”

Newcastle United XI: Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Bruno Guimaraes, Sean Longstaff, Joe Willock, Joelinton, Chris Wood, Miguel Almiron. Subs: Karl Darlow, Jamaal Lascelles, Jonjo Shelvey, Callum Wilson, Allan Saint-Maximin, Matt Targett, Javier Manquillo, Jacob Murphy, Elliot Anderson.