MediaEvolves
This weekend, a heavyweight matchup between Newcastle United and Chelsea will take place in the Premier League.
The Magpies always had a strong record versus Chelsea at St James’ Park, despite their relative problems under Mike Ashley.
However, for the first time in a while, the Magpies enter this match as perhaps the favourites, and a victory would put them in an incredible position heading into the World Cup break.
Newcastle will bet on their chances in this match because Chelsea, of course, is in bad shape after dropping their last three league games.
We predict that Eddie Howe will alter his frequently rotated lineup from the Carabao Cup midweek by no fewer than seven players.
The best team Howe can field right now is pretty much this one.
Dan Burn switches back to left-back, Sven Botman, Fabian Schar, and Kieran Trippier rejoin the squad, bringing the back five back to the lineup we’ve become familiar to in recent weeks.
In the middle of the field, Bruno Guimaraes begins alongside Joelinton and Joe Willock, with Allan Saint-Maximin making his long-awaited return from injury.
For a match like this, Saint-Maximin would typically be rested, but given Chelsea’s wing-back injury woes, we believe Howe would want his strongest wide options on the field in order to take advantage of this vulnerability in Graham Potter’s team.
After receiving a World Cup call-up this week, Callum Wilson received good news, and he begins once more.
