Chelsea could move to the top of the Premier League table for a period with a win in the early kick-off against Newcastle United at St James’ Park this afternoon.
Frank Lampard‘s side had gathered momentum before the international break and will be hoping to get going where they left off. Meanwhile, Newcastle sit 13th in the table and will be hoping to improve upon their league position as they welcome the Blues to Tyneside.
Unlike plenty of their league rivals, the Blues squad has by and large returned relatively unscathed from the international break and Lampard has almost a full squad from which to choose.
Summer arrival Kai Havertz didn’t join up with the German squad after testing positive for Covid, but the attacking midfielder is unlikely to feature from the start as he has only just returned to individual training. Winger Christian Pulisic has also been training following his release from the USA squad but is a doubt with an ongoing hamstring problem.
The only other doubts come from Thiago Silva and Ben Chilwell, who have endured a heavy workload, as well as a slight back problem for the England left-back.
Here’s how we think the Blues will line up this afternoon…
