Overview
Newcastle have been in inconsistent form ahead of their Carabao Cup last-16 clash with Chelsea. Eddie Howe's side are on a three-game winless streak, most recently a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at the weekend.
The home team St James' Park's attack has disappointed fans with only 4 goals in the last 6 matches.
Chelsea bounced back from a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool with a 4-1 win over Panathinaikos in the Conference League. The Blues then went on to defeat Newcastle in round 9 of the Premier League.
Coach Enzo Maresca's team is currently ranked 5th in the Premier League, just 1 point behind the Champions League group and leading the Conference League after 2 wins in 2 matches.
Cole Palmer is still the inspiration for the Stamford Bridge team at the moment. The English player has scored 7 goals and had 5 assists since the beginning of the season. In addition, Nicolas Jackson has increasingly affirmed his adaptation at Chelsea with 6 goals and 3 assists.
Chelsea have beaten Newcastle in all three of their most recent meetings, including a penalty shootout victory in last season's Carabao Cup quarter-final. With their better form, the Blues are likely to beat the Magpies again.
Maresca's team have lost just one of their last 10 games, winning seven and drawing two. Chelsea have scored in all 10 of those games.
Human resources situation
Newcastle are concerned about the fitness of Anthony Gordon, who missed the Chelsea game through injury.
Besides, Eddie Howe is currently having difficulty in choosing the attacking line. Most likely, Will Osula and Jacob Murphy will be given the opportunity to start against Chelsea.
On the other side of the front line, Chelsea have no new injury problems at the moment. Maresca is expected to change the starting lineup, with many players returning such as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall or Joao Felix.
Expected lineup:
Newcastle: Vlachodimos, Livramento, Krafth, Schar, Kelly, Longstaff, Willock, Tonali, Murphy, Osula, Isak.
Chelsea: Jorgensen, Disasi, Badiashile, Adarabioyo, Cucurella, Fernandez, Dewsbury-Hall, Sancho, Felix, Mudryk, Nkunku.
The match between Newcastle and Chelsea takes place at 2:45 am on October 31 (Vietnam time).
