Chelsea and Newcastle United will be desperate to return to winning ways when they lock horns at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The 2025/26 Premier League season resumes with Gameweek 30 on Saturday. The action on the day will start with two simultaneous games before continuing with two matches, including Chelsea vs Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea’s recent topsy-turvy form continued earlier this week, as they suffered a 5-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg. The Blues have lost only four games under Liam Rosenior, but they have all come against the top-draw teams. However, the 4-1 win over Aston Villa in the Premier League offers some hope for a top-four finish.
On the other hand, Newcastle United will unlikely secure UEFA Champions League qualification for the 2025/26 season, as they are 12th in the Premier League standings, nine points behind fifth-placed Chelsea. Additionally, while the Magpies produced an impressive performance against Barcelona earlier this week, they are in a precarious position in the round of 16 tie.
The reverse fixture saw Chelsea come from two goals down to hold Newcastle United to a 2-2 draw, with Joao Pedro scoring the equaliser. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Chelsea
Liam Rosenior has a new roster issue that is hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Chelsea head coach will be bereft of the services of four first-team players vs Newcastle United on Saturday.
Pedro Neto is the latest absentee, as he will serve a suspension due to an FA misconduct charge. Meanwhile, Levi Colwill (knee) and Estevao William (hamstring) remain in the treatment room. Additionally, Mykhailo Mudryk will continue to remain unavailable after failing a doping test several months ago.
Robert Sanchez should replace Filip Jorgensen between the sticks, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Newcastle United on Saturday. The backline will feature Malo Gusto, Mamadou Sarr, Trevoh Chalobah, and Marc Cucurella.
As for the midfield unit, Andrey Santos will line up alongside Moises Caicedo in the double pivot, with Enzo Fernandez reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Joao Pedro will lead the line for Chelsea against Newcastle United, with Alejandro Garnacho and Cole Palmer completing the numbers in the offensive unit.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Sarr, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Santos; Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Garnacho; Pedro
Newcastle United
Unlike his counterpart in the Chelsea dugout, Eddie Howe has no new issues to worry about ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge. The Newcastle United head coach will be without four first-team players on Saturday.
Lewis Miley is closing in on returning from a hamstring injury, but Saturday’s match has come too soon for him. Meanwhile, Fabian Schar (ankle) and Bruno Guimaraes (thigh) will return next month, while Emil Krafth (knee) is a long-term absentee.
Aaron Ramsdale should take his spot between the sticks, with Newcastle United lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him vs Chelsea on Saturday. The backline will feature Kieran Trippier, Malick Thiaw, Dan Burn, and Lewis Hall.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Joe Willock, Sandro Tonali, and Joelinton in the middle of the park. Finally, Nick Woltemade will spearhead the Newcastle United attack against Chelsea, with Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy being the two wide attackers. So, Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga will be among the backup options on the bench for the away side.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Ramsdale; Trippier, Thiaw, Burn, Hall; Willock, Tonali, Joelinton; Murphy, Woltemade, Barnes
Key Stats
- Chelsea have won 11 of their last 12 Premier League home games vs Newcastle United (D1) since a 2-0 loss in May 2012 under Roberto Di Matteo. However, the Magpies have avoided defeat in five of their seven most recent Premier League games against Chelsea (W3 D2 L2), more times than they had in their previous 15 (W3 D1 L11).
- Newcastle have won 49 Premier League away games against London clubs, and on Saturday, they could become the fourth non-London team to win 50 in the capital after Manchester United (81), Liverpool (79) and Manchester City (64). However, the Magpies have lost more Premier League away games in London than any other side (94).
- No team has scored in more Premier League games than Chelsea this term (27), with their only two blanks coming in 0-0 draws with Crystal Palace and Bournemouth. The Blues have scored more penalty goals than any other side in the Premier League this season (7), with Newcastle United joint-second in this regard (6). In the Magpies’ case, it is their highest proportion of penalty goals in a single Premier League campaign (14.3% – 6/42).
- Since Liam Rosenior took charge of Chelsea, the Blues have had more sequences of ten or more open play passes than any other side in the Premier League (173). They are averaging 21.6 per game under Rosenior, compared to 14 before his arrival this term.
- All four of Newcastle United’s away clean sheets in the Premier League this season have been in 0-0 draws. The last team to have more goalless draws on the road in a campaign were Manchester United in 2020/21 (5).
Player to Watch
Joao Pedro
While Nick Woltemade, Harvey Barnes, and Cole Palmer were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Joao Pedro as the Player to Watch for Saturday’s Premier League clash between Chelsea and Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge.
Only Erling Haaland (19) has scored more non-penalty goals in the Premier League this season than the Brazilian striker (14), with only Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (19 in 2000/01) and Diego Costa (19 in 2014/15) ever netting more non-penalty goals in their debut Premier League season with Chelsea.
In 2026, Joao Pedro leads all players in the competition for total goals (8) and goal involvements (10 – G8 A2). So, it is no wonder that the former Brighton & Hove Albion attacker is a captaincy candidate in FPL for Gameweek 30.
Prediction
Chelsea 2-1 Newcastle United
It is often foolhardy to count Newcastle United out in a game against the most high-profile clubs, as Manchester United found out last week. The Tyneside outfit also took the game to Barcelona, and they would have felt that they deserved to win the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie.
So, a closely-contested affair is on the cards, and there may not be much to separate the two sides for most of the proceedings this weekend. However, Joao Pedro will continue his excellent run of form to deliver three crucial points. The Hard Tackle predicts a hard-fought 2-1 win for Liam Rosenior and his charges.
