Chelsea lineup vs. Newcastle: Predicted XI for EFL Cup match

Sports Mole looks at how Chelsea could line up for Wednesday night’s EFL Cup fourth-round clash with Newcastle United at St James’ Park.

Chelsea have suffered an availability blow in the form of Ben Chilwell ahead of Wednesday night’s trip to Newcastle United in the EFL Cup.

The out-of-favour defender’s only competitive appearance for the Blues so far this season arrived during the five-goal thrashing of League Two Barrow in the third round on September 24.

Fighting to earn a place in Enzo Maresca’s first-team plans, Chilwell has also been battling with illness over the past week, meaning that he is a doubt for the contest in the North-East on Wednesday.

The Blues are set to make a host of alterations to their XI from the 2-1 success over Newcastle on Sunday, so expect goalscorers Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson to drop out of the side.

Injury-hampered Reece James played his first full 90 minutes of the campaign last time out, with the right-back unlikely to feature from the start in this one.

Many of Chelsea’s stars from the opening gameweeks of their Conference League adventure are preparing to play a prominent role on Tyneside this midweek, including Christopher Nkunku, who scored a hat-trick last month in the EFL Cup.

Maresca opted for a back three during the continental success at Panathinaikos last Thursday but is set to respect the talents of Newcastle by deploying a four-man backline at St James’ Park, with Axel Disasi and Euro 2024 winner Marc Cucurella candidates for the full-back roles.

Chelsea possible starting lineup: Jorgensen; Disasi, Badiashile, Adarabioyo, Cucurella; Fernandez, Dewsbury-Hall, Sancho, Felix, Mudryk; Nkunku

> Click here to see how Newcastle could line up for this match

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