Newcastle United at Chelsea FC is our “sneaky good” game of the weekend. It’s a solid matchup if two sides trying to earn a UEFA competition slot for next season. It’s definitely overshadowed by Liverpool at Arsenal, which is deservedly the headliner for this weekend. We’ll have our previews for that one up shortly. But in the meantime, let’s look at who the two managers, Enzo Maresca and Eddie Howe, could select in their first teams for this one.
Chelsea FC vs Newcastle United FYIs
Kick: Sun. Oct 27, 3pm, Stamford Bridge, London, UK
Starting XI Predictions: Newcastle Chelsea
Team News: Newcastle Chelsea
Premier League Position: Newcastle 9th, 14 points Chelsea 6th, 12 points
Premier League Form: Newcastle WLDDL Chelsea WWWDL
Google Result Probability: Newcastle 23% Draw 22% Chelsea 55%
Here is “put your best foot forward,” and/or “lead with strength” looks like.
Starting XI Predictions for Both Teams
Chelsea FC
Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, Malo Gusto; Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo; Romeo Lavia, Cole Palmer, Jadon Sancho; Nicolas Jackson
Newcastle United
Nick Pope; Tino Livramento, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, Lewis Hall; Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali; Harvey Barnes, Anthony Gordon, Alexander Isak
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.