Newcastle United fell to a disappointing 1-0 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend at St James’ Park. 

The Seagulls were second best throughout the game but managed to come away with maximum points after Danny Welbeck’s superb goal in the first-half. 

The result means the Magpies have dropped down to ninth in the Premier League standings, having collected 12 points from eight matches. 

Manager Eddie Howe will now take his team to West London to play Chelsea in a tricky away fixture.  

The English boss boasts a good record against the Blues but the Londoners have been playing impressively this season and will also have home advantage.

Predicted Newcastle United XI vs Chelsea   

Nick Pope performed well against Brighton last time. The 32-year-old will be hoping for another good outing against Chelsea this weekend. 

In front of the experienced goalkeeper, Eddie Howe is expected to keep the same backline consisting of Tino Livramento, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn and Lewis Hall. 

There is also no reason for a change in midfield as Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton have been impressive with their performances. 

However, Howe may drop Jacob Murphy to the bench after his disappointing display against Brighton. The 29-year-old, who joined the Magpies in a £12 million deal in 2017, lost possession on 10 occasions in the previous home match and also won just one of his five duels. 

Murphy was withdrawn just after the hour mark, with Harvey Barnes replacing him. Howe is likely to feature Barnes from the beginning this weekend. 

However, Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak are expected to keep their first-team berths despite missing chances last time against Brighton. 

Predicted XI: Pope; Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall; Tonali, Bruno, Joelinton; Gordon, Isak, Barnes