Chelsea visits Newcastle United on Saturday, for the first match of the next round of Premier League action. It’s also a matchup of two sides who won their EFL Cup quarterfinal ties in midweek. Newcastle United, banged up as they are, are the defending champions in that competition, and they’ll take on Manchester City in the semifinals.
As for Chelsea, they await the winner of Arsenal-Crystal Palace, a clash that takes place on Tuesday night.
Chelsea FC at Newcastle United FYIs
Kick: Sat. December 20, 12:30 pm, St. James Park, Newcastle, UK
Preview Material for Both Sides: Starting XI Predictions Team News
Google Result Probability: Newcastle United 35% Draw 26% Chelsea 39%
Premier League Standing: Newcastle United 12th, 22 pts Chelsea 4th, 28 pts
And we’ll preview those matches later on, as the time draws near. For now, let’s look at the projected starting lineups for Saturday.
Predicted Starting XIs
Chelsea FC
Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella; Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer, Alejandro Garnacho; Joao Pedro
Newcastle United
Aaron Ramsdale; Lewis Miley, Fabian Schar, Malick Thiaw, Lewis Hall; Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton; Anthony Elanga, Nick Woltemade, Anthony Gordon
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, RG.org and Ratings.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 and the Washington Post.