Maurizio Sarri has handed a first Chelsea start to on-loan midfielder Mateo Kovacic, while Eden Hazard returns to face Newcastle United.
Eden Hazard will make his first start of the season for Chelsea away to Newcastle United, while Mateo Kovacic has been handed a full debut by Maurizio Sarri.
The Blues head coach indicated in his pre-match news conference both players were ready to start but would not be able to complete the full 90 minutes.
Belgium international Hazard has come off the bench in each of Chelsea’s first two Premier League matches of 2018-19, with Sarri’s side taking maximum points.
Former Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez is without captain Jamaal Lascelles and star midfielder Jonjo Shelvey due to injury, though media reports have suggested the former has fallen out with the Spaniard.
Here’s the Chelsea team to take on Newcastle… #NEWCHE pic.twitter.com/DqGqdBR5Pi
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 26, 2018
Kenedy, after last weekend’s disappointing performance in the 0-0 draw at Cardiff City that included failing to convert a late penalty, is ineligible to feature against his parent club.
Newcastle have won four of their last five home Premier League matches against Chelsea, who they beat 3-0 on the final day of the 2017-18 campaign.
Chelsea’s Defensive Frailties
Having voiced concerns about how quickly his new players would adapt to his methods, Sarri’s problems right now appear to revolve around who to leave out of his line-up.
Nevertheless, he saw enough in the Community Shield defeat by Manchester City and last weekend’s narrow home victory against Arsenal to confirm him in the view that, defensively, there is still work to be done.
Against the Gunners, it took a late winner from left-back Marcos Alonso to secure a 3-2 victory after Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi had cancelled out Chelsea’s early two-goal lead.
And while Newcastle might not have the firepower to threaten the Blues in the way City and Arsenal did, Sarri knows his hopes of steering the club back into the top four will not be helped by a leaky back-line.
The 59-year-old said Chelsea’s defence was not still up to speed when he explained the ongoing absence of Gary Cahill, insisting it was harder for defenders to adjust to his methods than more attack-minded players.
Like Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard, Cahill returned to pre-season training later than some of his colleagues having been a member of the England squad that reached the World Cup semi-finals in Russia
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And with Sarri determined to impose a back-four after two seasons of Antonio Conte’s preferred 3-4-3 formation, there are fewer openings for a centre-back.
“I think that, in this moment, for a defender it’s more difficult to play in my team after only 20 days of training,” said Sarri.
“I am not worried about the defensive phase because, when I arrive at a new team, usually I have problems with the defensive phase for two or three months. So I think it’s normal for me.”