Finally! Actual football is back. Premier League football is back. Here are your notes for when Chelsea host the Magpies at Stamford Bridge.
Newcastle may still be buzzing from their win against Manchester United at St. James Park. Or maybe they are not all that excited. Gone are the days when beating United was a big deal, right? Chelsea will be a much more substantial opponent, as it should be.
1. Team selection
Chelsea have another difficult game midweek against Ajax in the UEFA Champions League. Taking into consideration that Chelsea also have a difficult game awaiting them on Saturday, Frank Lampard has a lot to consider with his team selection for today. Does he rest his key players for the Ajax game? Does he use his strongest squad for Newcastle and rest them against Ajax? Does he use his strongest XI for both games?
When we said Lampard was going to use his full squad to get anything out of any competition this season, we were talking about scenarios like this.
Chelsea has just started gathering momentum in the Premier League and cannot afford an interruption by way of the Champions League. At the same time, Chelsea sit third in Champions League Group H and need to start covering the distance to the top of the group sooner rather than later.
Lampard has to trust his players on this one. All of them. He cannot afford to run the same line-up in consecutive games. But he probably will.
There are still players at Chelsea looking for any and every avenue to prove they should be in the conversation for the starting line-up. Now is the perfect opportunity to send out players who have been knocking on the door of the starting XI and trust them. It is a home game against Newcastle, so that added advantage would boost the players and cover up for any lack of confidence.
2. Marcos Alonso and Emerson
There have been polls, tweets, insinuations amongst others, mostly from people who are looking for views and clicks… OK, completely from people looking for views and clicks, comparing Marcos Alonso to Emerson.
Many fans are still of the belief that Alonso still cannot defend. Some have forced themselves to admit that Alonso has been playing well (that must must have been really difficult).
There are reports that Emerson might be fit to play. Whoever plays, watch their reading of the game, their reaction to events, their impact on the game. Look at something other than pace. Don’t judge Alonso based on how fast he is or his failure to catch a winger. It may seem like pace is the only marketable factor in a full back, but Alonso and Emerson should have made you have a rethink. It was Alonso who gave Chelsea their first clean sheet this season after all.
The competition between the two is good for their development, but among public opinion it is already skewed in favor of one, as one is so dearly beloved and the other so fiercely hated. Good thing Frank Lampard does not share this prejudice.
Marcos Alonso and Emerson have both been solid when they have been given chances and Lampard’s job is to ensure this continues to be true. I know who I prefer in the line-up but, ultimately it doesn’t matter who plays, as long as he does the job.
3. Kepa Arrizabalaga
Yes, we’re back here. We could go on again about how many saves he has or hasn’t made, but that will not achieve much. Yes, the heroics of last season’s Europa League penalty shootout against Eintracht Frankfurt is still fresh in my memories, but if we judge him now based on what happened then, there is no reason why we cannot judge Marcos Alonso now based on what happened in the 2016/17 season.
That being said, Arrizabalaga is a good goalkeeper. With some work in his positioning and diving he could become a world force. He is close to replacing David De Gea in the Spain starting XI. He has good reflexes, but he is still conceding many goals compared to shots faced.
Yes, the center backs have their faults, but the way many fans expect Chelsea’s defenders to clean the mess every other non-defending outfield player has caused, they also expect that Arrizabalaga can be called upon when all else fails. That’s what makes a player elite.
4. Chelsea’s response to Newcastle’s game plan
We all know that Newcastle does not have the players to play expansively against Chelsea. Steve Bruce has also said so. Their only option, therefore, is to sit back and look for open spaces. Oh, and set pieces.
Chelsea teams have always had the most joy when they have space to run into. It will be interesting to see how Chelsea breaks down a Newcastle side that would most likely come to crash Lampard’s party.
5. Defending cutbacks and set pieces
At some point someone has to take control in the Chelsea back line. In the whole team, really. Chelsea have already conceded way too many goals from cutbacks. Their defenders need to communicate better with the defensive midfielders.
We’ve talked about defending set pieces already and, so far, the team seems to be improving. But keeping in mind that Emerson may be back into the line-up, watch how Chelsea try to defend set pieces and corners after losing even more height.