Yoane Wissa scored just 10 minutes into his full Newcastle United debut in Wednesday’s 2-1 Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Fulham at St James’ Park.
Newcastle United return to Premier League action at St James’ Park on Saturday as they host Chelsea in the early kick-off (12:30pm kick-off).
The Magpies head into the match on the back of progressing to the Carabao Cup semi-finals for the second successive season as Eddie Howe’s side look to retain the trophy that ended the club’s 70-year domestic trophy drought back in March.
Newcastle will face Manchester City over two legs in early 2026 but for now they will be looking to get their Premier League season back on track.
United had been in a decent run of form in the league, having taken 10 points from a possible 12 before that momentum came to a crashing halt with a 1-0 defeat to rivals Sunderland at the Stadium of Light last Sunday.
Newcastle United v Chelsea
Newcastle host Chelsea, who currently sit six points ahead of them in fourth in the Premier League table. The Blues have finished just three points ahead of The Magpies in each of the last two Premier League seasons.
And Howe’s side have a good record against Chelsea at St James’ Park, having won each of the last four meetings between the clubs on Tyneside by an aggregate score of 9-1.
But the quick turnaround in matches paired with Newcastle’s recent defensive crisis will present a challenge heading into Saturday’s match.
Howe has only Malick Thiaw and Fabian Schar as his two fully-fit senior defenders to choose from heading into the weekend. Lewis Hall is a doubt for the match while 19-year-old Lewis Miley had to slot in at right-back against Fulham with Under-21s defender Alex Murphy replacing the injured Tino Livramento at left-back against Fulham.
Murphy, who made his Premier League debut for Newcastle in a 4-1 win over Chelsea in 2023, could be in line for his first Premier League start should Hall not be passed fit.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Howe faces a more welcome selection dilemma.
Yoane Wissa to start against Chelsea?
Wissa’s impact against Fulham brought a refreshing attacking impact on the side. The 29-year-old’s clever, pacy runs offered Newcastle a different dimension in the final third compared to Nick Woltemade’s hold-up-orientated approach.
But given Wissa hasn’t started a Premier League match since his final appearance for Brentford in May, it will be a big ask for the £55million deadline day signing to start two games within the space of 72 hours.
“He’s played his heart out and I’ve probably left him on the pitch slightly longer than I initially planned to because I thought he looked good and, in that moment, the team was performing well,” Howe said, reflecting on the Fulham match on Wednesday.
“We had good momentum in the game. I didn’t want to break it.”
Asked if Wissa could start again, Howe added: “We’ll wait and see. I think we now have a position, touch wood, where we have the two fit strikers, two established strikers that we wanted this season to spearhead our attack and to interchange and use in different moments.
“So, we’ve finally got that and hopefully, they can both remain fit. They’re going to be key players for us.”