CONFIRMED LINEUP: Jörgensen; Disasi, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Cucurella; Veiga, Fernández; Dewsbury-Hall, Félix, Mudryk; Nkunku
Three days after its 2–1 victory in the Premier League, Chelsea travels north to St. James' Park for its second straight meeting against Newcastle United, this time in the Carabao Cup.
The Blues ended the Magpies' Carabao Cup dream a season ago, advancing to the semi-finals on penalties at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea ended up at Wembley in the final, but Mauricio Pochettino's team was bested by Liverpool in the final.
Fresh off Sunday's victory, Enzo Maresca once again has all first team players at his disposal. Although his team were superior to Newcastle last time out, it would be a surprise if any player repeats in the starting XI.
Maresca has made it a habit to fully rotate his squad, using a completely different XI in the league compared to the one in the Carabao Cup and UEFA Conference League.
Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs. Newcastle (4-2-3-1)
GK: Filip Jörgensen—Maresca insists that he's happy with Robert Sánchez as the starter in the league despite his shaky moments. Jörgensen has been solid in midweek games and could push for that No. 1 spot in the EPL soon.
LB: Marc Cucurella—The return to fitness of Reece James has left Cucurella as the odd man out in the league. However, Malo Gusto hasn't been up to his last season standards and James's health is never a guarantee, so the Spaniard could very soon be back in the EPL lineup.
CB: Tosin Adarabioyo—The former Fulham center back is a solid back up. He returns to the XI after his up-and-down display at Anfield a week and a half ago.
CB: Renato Veiga—Veiga's versatility has already been showcased in his early days with the Blues, playing as a midfielder, full-back and center-back since his arrival. There's a lot to be excited about the 21-year-old.
RB: Axel Disasi—Mauricio Pochettino experimented and played Disasi as a full-back late into his Chelsea tenure. Disasi must be thankful or else it's hard to envision how he'd be given minutes under Maresca if it weren't for him offering James and Gusto rest midweek.
CM: Enzo Fernández—Romeo Lavia continues to impress and has fully taken over as Moisés Caicedo's midfield partner in the Premier League. Fernández looked good against Panathinaikos, finally playing deeper rather how he's been used when alongside Caicedo.
CM: Kieran Dewsbury-Hall—The former Leicester City player hasn't put a foot wrong since his arrival to West London.
LW: Mykhailo Mudryk—Fresh of a goal and two assists against Panathinaikos, Mudryk is looking sharper and more confident of late.
AM: João Félix—Félix is stuck behind Cole Palmer which speaks to Chelsea's deep squad. Félix scored a brace against Panathinaikos.
RW: Jadon Sancho—After a great start to his Chelsea career, Sancho hasn't played a minute in the Blues' last two matches. Pedro Neto was brilliant over the weekend and seems to have taken over the starting role in the league for the time being.
READ THE LATEST CHELSEA NEWS, PREVIEWS, PREDICTIONS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs. Newcastle United: Carabao Cup.
