Chelsea V Newcastle - Preview and possible lineups

Chelsea: The hosts will be without several key players for the game with Willian (hamstring), Thibaut Courtois (ankle) and Alvaro Morata (back) all mising through injury. Cesc Fabregas could feature after he trained on Friday but a decision on whether he starts will be made closer to kick off. Midfielder Ross Barkley could make his first start for the club in the game, whilst Willy Caballero is expected to come in for Courtois.

Newcastle: New signing Kenedy is cup-tied for this one after completing a loan move from Chelsea earlier this week so his debut will have to wait. Defender Florian Lejeune could return from a foot problem after beginning training once again this week, but Jesus Gamez remains sidelined following Ankle surgery.

The thoughts of Chelsea boss Antonio Conte:

"Every competition is important. In the Carabao Cup we tried to get to the final, and we reached the semi-final. Now there is another competition, the FA Cup, and this is a very difficult competition. We will try to get to the next round, but there is an opponent who has the same idea."

The thoughts of Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez on the prospect of making a raft of changes:

“I think we have to find the balance. I always say we can progress in any competition, in this case in the FA Cup, if we have the squad strong enough to compete. We will see if we can do it, but I will use the squad, for sure.

“Every game is important, but obviously we know how massive it is to stay in the Premier League, because of all the money around and then you can improve your team if you have more money. It’s a win-win situation if you stay in the Premier League, so that is something we have to consider.

"But at the same time, if we can use the squad, we will try to do our best. We will use some players that were maybe not playing, and obviously some that were. I need to find this balance between players with match fitness and players who are not playing too much.”

Did you know?

Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 10 FA Cup games against Premier League opposition at Stamford Bridge (W8, D2).

Form:

Possible lineups:

Chelsea: Caballero, Luiz, Cahill, Rudiger, Zappacosta, Drinkwater, Bakayoko, Barkley, Alonso, Hazard, Batshuayi.

Newcastle: Darlow, Yedlin, Mbemba, Lejeune, Dummett, Diame, Merino, Ritchie, Perez, Atsu, Joselu.