Maurizio Sarri will be hoping that his Chelsea squad will continue their bright start to the season when they travel to Newcastle on Sunday.
St James’ Park has not been a happy hunting ground for Chelsea in recent years, but the new Blues boss will be hoping to put that right.
There will be plenty of induvidual battles on the day, so we’ve taken a closer look at where the game could be won and lost for both sides.
David Luiz vs Salomon Rondon
Salomon Rondon is being tipped to make his first start for Newcastle against Chelsea and it could come at a great time for him.
David Luiz was far from his best as Chelsea conceded two at home to Arsenal last weekend and Rondon could look to take advantage.
Luiz has often struggled when coming up against more physical strikers, which could play into Rondon’s hands.
Newcastle will be hoping that the striker can be the regular source of goals that they have craved in the Premier League and a goal against Chelsea would certainly raise the mood at St James’ Park.
Eden Hazard vs DeAndre Yedlin
Like Rondon, Eden Hazard is also likely to make his first start of the season after being eased back into action following his World Cup exploits.
He’s shown glimpses of his talent during his brief spells off the bench, but he’ll be looking to make an impact under his new boss against Newcastle.
While DeAndre Yedlin has been a regular for Newcastle since their promotion, he remains one of the more inexperienced defenders in the squad.
Jorginho vs Jonjo Shelvey
Jorginho is emerging as a key figure in the Chelsea midfield, playing a pivotal role in implementing Sarri’s style of play.
If Newcastle want to stop Chelsea in their tracks they’ll have to get to Jorginho first.
The onus could fall on Jonjo Shelvey to do a man-marking job to avoid the Italian finding huge amounts of space in either half to pick his passes.
Marcos Alonso vs Matt Ritchie
Newcastle’s right side has the potential to be a key area on the pitch.
They’ll be looking towards Matt Ritchie to provide the quality on the ball, but he’ll also be tasked with stopping the adventurous Marcos Alonso.
Despite being the home side, Newcastle may find regular chances hard to come by, so players like Ritchie will need to be relied on to give that extra bit of quality.
