After a resounding victory against Panathinaikos in the UEFA Conference League, Chelsea looks to get back to winning ways in the Premier League when it hosts Newcastle at Stanford Bridge.
Chelsea comes in off a narrow defeat against Liverpool that saw it fall out of the top four. Enzo Maresca's men will be eager to not lose any more ground in what's already a tight fight for the Champions League spots in England. A loss could see the Blues fall out of the European places, whilst a win could see it return to where it sat prior to the defeat at Anfield.
Chelsea used a completely different lineup midweek to the one that took the pitch against Liverpool. In what's become a usual practice for Maresca since his appointment, the Blues got the job done in Athens.
Club captain Reece James returned from injury last week and with that, Maresca has every registered first team player at his disposal for Sunday, something unusual for a club that's battled injury issues in recent times.
Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs. Newcastle (4-2-3-1)
GK: Robert Sánchez—Filip Jörgensen put in a good performance against Panathinaikos. Sánchez has been solid but continues to be shaky at times and doesn't provide confidence for Chelsea fans.
LB: Malo Gusto—Marc Cucurella played 90 minutes on Thursday so Gusto looks poised to keep his spot in the XI on Sunday. He could make way for the Spaniard in coming weeks given that he's not a natural left-back.
CB: Levi Colwill—Colwill was at fault for the penalty that Mohamed Salah converted in the opening goal of last weekend's fixture. He'll look to rebound in what's otherwise been a good start to the season.
CB: Wesley Fofana—Fofana returns from his suspension and slides back into the XI to partner Colwill.
RB: Reece James—It's no secret that when fit, James has the talent to be one of the best right-backs on the planet. He needs to play regularly to regain the form that saw him soar under Thomas Tuchel.
CM: Moisés Caicedo—Caicedo will be key to commanding the midfield against one of the toughest, most physical trios in the league.
CM: Romeo Lavia—Maresca surprised many dropping Enzo Fernández in favor of Lavia against the Reds. The Belgian was one of Chelsea's best players at Anfield.
LW: Jadon Sancho—Although Sancho's had a promising start to his Chelsea career, he failed to impress against Liverpool and Pedro Neto replaced him to begin the second half. Mykhailo Mudryk was fantastic against Panathinaikos, so Sancho needs a strong performance to remain as the preferred option moving forward in the EPL.
AM: Cole Palmer—No team has done a better job at limiting Palmer's influence on the game than Liverpool did last weekend. Chelsea's talisman will look to bounce back and get his 12th goal involvement of the EPL season.
RW: Noni Madueke—Madueke looked like Chelsea's most dangerous player at Anfield and continues to show a lot of improvement under Maresca.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs. Newcastle: Premier League.
