Enzo Fernandez was one of Chelsea’s better players during their 5-2 loss to PSG during the week, with the Argentine registering a goal and an assist - as well as two shots in the meeting.

Fernandez has been playing higher up this season, with his role in the side now effectively being a box crasher with Caicedo and Santos forming a pivot behind him under Rosenior. Fernandez has scored eight goals in the Premier League this season, from a shot count of 55 (2.06 per 90).

Fernandez should continue in this more advanced role here, giving him a good chance of getting away a few shots at goal. Newcastle have been quite shaky at the back for some time, failing to keep a clean sheet in their last 13 matches across all competitions.

Andrey Santos is clearly a favourite of Liam Rosenior, which isn’t that surprising as the pair worked together at Strasbourg prior to joining Chelsea. Reece James took his spot in midfield during the week, but that turned out to be a mistake by Rosenior - and we know that James doesn’t often play back to back matches given his fitness issues.

Santos has committed 11 fouls across his 10 starts in the Premier League this term, working out to an average of 1.02 fouls committed per 90. He’ll be facing up against a Newcastle midfield that includes Joelinton and Tonali - who combine to win 3.08 fouls per 90 in the Premier League this season.

Aaron Ramsdale has been thrust back into the action as Newcastle’s number one keeper, with Eddie Howe constantly switching between Ramsdale and Pope throughout the campaign. This partly explains why Newcastle have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 13 matches across all competitions - and have only kept four clean sheets across their 14 away matches.

Ramsdale has been called into action 14 times across his seven starts in the Premier League this season (1.96 per 90), but this isn’t the most accurate sample size as Pope has been chosen ahead of Ramsdale for nearly all of Newcastle’s games against top quality opposition, so Ramsdale’s save numbers will naturally look a bit off putting as he’s been deployed in matches against lesser sides so far.

Pope’s save numbers in the Premier League provide a more accurate data set of the threat that the Newcastle goalkeeper is likely to face here with Pope being called into action 67 times across his 22 Premier League starts this season (3.07 per 90).

Newcastle are a strong side when it comes to winning fouls, with only Aston Villa drawing more fouls than Eddie Howe’s side over the last two Premier League seasons. This isn’t that surprising when looking at the profile of Newcastle’s players, particularly their midfield trio who are difficult to deter without hauling them to the ground.

Chelsea committed 14 fouls when these sides clashed at St James’ Park earlier in the campaign, a game that saw Chelsea come from 2-0 down to earn a draw against Newcastle. Only four sides in the Premier League have committed more fouls than Chelsea this season, with the Blues currently averaging 11.2 fouls committed per game. 

Furthermore, Newcastle’s most recent visit to Chelsea saw the Blues commit 13 fouls - showing a consistency in the small rise that Chelsea see in their foul numbers when taking on a side like Newcastle who are very capable when it comes to winning fouls.

Joao Pedro has been one of the few shining lights for Chelsea so far this season, and seems to have improved even further under Liam Rosenior. Joao Pedro netted a hat trick in his last Premier League match as Chelsea ran out 4-1 winners over Aston Villa on the road - taking his overall tally to 14 Premier League goals.

Only Erling Haaland (19) has scored more non-penalty goals in the Premier League this season than Joao Pedro, so it is fair to say that he is one of the elite strikers in the division at the moment. This is already his best ever return in a Premier League season, having netted tallies of nine and 10 whilst at Brighton.

Joao Pedro scored a superb goal when these sides met earlier in the season, taking the ball down brilliantly from a long ball and creating the goal himself by rolling the centre back and slotting under Ramsdale. This is an example of how Joao Pedro can create these goalscoring opportunities all on his own, and should be able to continue his goalscoring streak for Chelsea as the man in form.

Chelsea have a few glaring issues at the moment, mostly centered around a lack of discipline and character, but only the key issues on the pitch is how many opportunities they concede from set pieces.

Chelsea have conceded eight goals from set pieces across Liam Rosenior’s 16 matches in charge so far, but this has been an issue for Chelsea going back to before Enzo Maresca joined the club.

Chelsea don’t have much height at all in the backline, or even the squad as a whole. This was a concern of Maresca and Pochettino, who both wanted more physicality in the squad and this is where Newcastle can gain an edge on Chelsea.

Joelinton is a natural threat from set piece situations, but can also get attempts away in open play and has been playing a bit more advanced in recent weeks. He’s had 27 shots in the Premier League this season (1.54 per 90), seeing 10 of these efforts find the target (0.57 per 90).

I can’t believe Fofana hasn’t picked up more yellow cards in the Premier League this season, he’s so aggressive for a centre back and has committed 16 fouls across his 12 starts in the Premier League (1.30 per 90), resulting in two yellow cards and one red card.

Fofana picked up seven yellow cards across his 14 starts in the Premier League last season, so his reckless nature is clearly consistent and can rise to the fore again here against a Newcastle side who are strong when it comes to winning fouls, and have a natural physical edge on Chelsea.

Interestingly, both of Fofana’s yellow cards in the Premier League this season have been collected at Stamford Bridge, with the sending off also coming in a home game as Chelsea drew 1-1 with Burnley.