Chelsea are 'very keen on taking Jadon Sancho' says expert
Frank Lampard is waiting on the fitness of several first-team players ahead of Chelsea’s meeting with Newcastle on Saturday. The Blues manager will hope to have N’Golo Kante available to face the Magpies after the Frenchman was forced to sit out against Burnley last weekend.
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However, the French star may not be risked so Matteo Kovacic could deputise alongside Jorginho in central midfield.
Mason Mount is expected to retain his spot as the third midfielder while Christian Pulisic remains sidelined so Callum Hudson-Odoi should start once again, having scored against Burnley.
The English winger will join Willian in supporting lone frontman Tammy Abraham, who was also on target in the win over the Clarets with his 13th Premier League goal of the season.
Lampard is faced with a couple of key choices regarding his defensive unit, with Reece James having excelled at right-back in recent weeks.
Chelsea team news: N'Golo Kante suffered a hamstring strain that ruled him out against Burnley (Image: GETTY)
The youngster is likely to continue on the right side of defence, meaning Cesar Azpilicueta must continue deputising out of position on the opposite flank.
Lampard currently prefers the versatile Azpilicueta to natural left-back Emerson Palmieri, while Marcos Alonso remains an injury doubt.
And at centre-back, Antonio Rudiger will be partnered by one of Kurt Zouma, Fikayo Tomori or Andreas Christensen.
The latter surprisingly started against Burnely, making Lampard’s selection difficult to predict.
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Finally, Kepa Arrizabalaga will continue in goal while Marco van Ginkel remains sidelined and Ruben Loftus-Cheek is also out but has returned to training and is closing on a return.
As for Newcastle, Steve Bruce is plagued by injury issues with up to nine first-team players nursing issues ahead of this weekend.
Paul Dummett and Dwight Gayle were forced off against Wolves last weekend while Jack Colback and Javier Manquillo are also on the treatment table.
Jamaal Lascelles is available but DeAndre Yedlin, Fabian Schar, Ki Sung-Yueng, Yoshinori Muto and Allan Saint-Maximin are all doubtful.
Chelsea team news: Is this how the Blues will line up against Newcastle? (Image: buildlineup.com)
Chelsea predicted line-up vs Newcastle United – Premier League