Chelsea Predicted XI vs Newcastle: Mauricio Pochettino hands 19-year-old a start

Chelsea Predicted XI vs Newcastle: Mauricio Pochettino hands 19-year-old a start

Mauricio Pochettino will be monitoring the fitness of his players as Chelsea prepare for the return of the Premier League this weekend.

The Blues are preparing for another tough fixture against Newcastle United, who are yet to lose at 3pm on a Saturday since Eddie Howe took over.

There will be some confidence in the camp though after recent great displays against both Tottenham and Manchester City.

Here’s The Chelsea Chronicle’s predicted XI for this weekend’s Premier League fixture.

GK and Defence

Robert Sanchez will continue between the sticks, as the only ever present in all competitions for the club this season.

Two weeks off to recover will have done Reece James the world of good, and he will start again on Saturday.

Thiago Silva’s longevity just keeps going right now, and he will carry on his run of starting every Premier League game this season.

He will be joined in the middle by Levi Colwill, who missed the last game before the international break due to injury.

On the left will see Marc Cucurella look to continue his return to form.

Midfield

Moises Caicedo will hopefully be fresh enough to return to the starting side after another gruelling international break in South America.

However, we predict it will be too soon for Enzo Fernandez, and he will instead be replaced by 19-year-old Lesley Ugochukwu.

In front of those two, one of the candidates for the season in Conor Gallagher will start again.

Attack

Another of those candidates already is Cole Palmer, who will start again off the right for the Blues.

The opposite flank will be occupied by Raheem Sterling, who somehow missed out on a call up to the England squad last week.

Up front, Nicolas Jackson will look to get amongst the goals again after scoring four goals in his last two games.