The Blues tonight continue their pre-season preparations in the United States against one of the top-flight’s biggest new threats as the Premier League Summer Series continues in Atlanta. Mauricio Pochettino has kicked off his spell in charge with entertaining wins over Wrexham and Brighton, but the manager will be looking for more from his players tonight.
Chelsea expect Newcastle, who should give new signing Harvey Barnes his first minutes since joining for around £38million, to be a strong rival for Champions League qualification this season and both can lay down an early marker here. Regarding Chelsea team news, Trevoh Chalobah and Noni Madueke are both available again, though neither are expected to start. Reece James, who has thrown his hat into the ring to be the new captain, will likely get his first outing of pre-season.
Levi Colwill, Mykhailo Mudryk and Nicolas Jackson all impressed against Brighton and will look to do so again with less than two weeks to go until the new league season begins against Liverpool. Follow Newcastle vs Chelsea live below, featuring expert insight and analysis from Nizaar Kinsella at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Live updates
Newcastle team news
Like Mauricio Pochettino, Eddie Howe should pick a strong team tonight for what is a high-profile friendly clash between two Premier League giants.
New signing Harvey Barnes is likely to make his Newcastle debut after finally completing a £38million transfer from Leicester.
Nick Pope could make his first appearance of pre-season in goal after training fully this week having recovered from a finger operation, while Joe Willock is also fit following a hamstring injury.
Jamal Lewis and Emil Krafth are still out though, while Sean Longstaff missed the 3-3 draw with Aston Villa in Philadelphia on Monday due to a minor issue.
Chelsea team news
Standard Sport’s Nizaar Kinsella reports that Bashir Humphreys will start for Chelsea tonight.
The 20-year-old centre-back has enjoyed an impressive pre-season campaign so far and will hope to shine in a tough test against Newcastle to perhaps prove to Mauricio Pochettino that he is worthy of a first-team squad place next season, rather than a loan move elsewhere.
Reece James could get his first minutes of pre-season after joining up with the squad late following illness and a precautionary scan of his knee, while fellow defender Trevoh Chalobah may also be back after missing the 4-3 win over Brighton with an Achilles problem.
“He is a very important player for us and it’s important to have a player like him back. Hopefully, he can play,” Pochettino said of James.
Levi Colwill, Mykhailo Mudryk and Enzo Fernandez could all start tonight after linking up for pre-season later than most of their team-mates, ditto Noni Madueke, who did not feature against Brighton after being part of England’s squad that won the Under-21 European Championship in (the other) Georgia, along with Colwill.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Ben Chilwell, Andrey Santos, Conor Gallagher, Raheem Sterling and Christopher Nkunku may all start again, with Malo Gusto likely to start at right-back with James not fully up to speed.
Where to watch Newcastle vs Chelsea
TV channel: In the UK, tonight’s game will be televised live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage starting at 1am BST.
Live stream: Subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Sky Go app.
Welcome to Newcastle vs Chelsea live coverage
Good evening and welcome to the Evening Standard’s continued live coverage of Chelsea’s 2023 pre-season tour of the United States.
After a thrashing of Wrexham in North Carolina and seven-goal thriller against Brighton in Philadelphia, tonight the Blues are in Atlanta for another high-profile Premier League Summer Series clash with fellow top-four hopefuls Newcastle.
Mauricio Pochettino will be expecting more goals and undoubtedly defensive improvements as his side look to make an early statement against a team that could well be a key rival in the race for Champions League qualification next term.
Kick-off at the impressive Mercedes-Benz Stadium is at 1:15am BST, so stay tuned for all the latest match build-up, team news and live updates, featuring expert insight and analysis from Standard Sport’s Chelsea correspondent Nizaar Kinsella at the ground.
