Chelsea will be looking to build on their thrashing of Norwich last weekend and maintain their spot at the top of the Premier League this weekend, as face Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday.
Chelsea retained their place at the top of the Premier League table after Mason Mount's hat-trick helped the Blues defeat Norwich 7-0 at home - the biggest victory in the Premier League this season.
This will be Newcastle's first home game without Steve Bruce after the manager recently parted ways with the Magpies and their new owners - so it will be a tough challenge for Thomas Tuchel's side, and it's not been made any easier with the Blues' injury woes piling up.
Tuchel confirmed in the press conference leading up to the Newcastle game that attacking trio Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic will all be absent for the trip to St. James' Park, and Mateo Kovacic picked up an unfortunate hamstring injury in training, with Tuchel confirming the midfielder will be missing for at least three games.
Pulisic returned to training this week after missing the last eight Premier League games through injury, but the clash with Newcastle is too soon for the American.
Lukaku and Werner are both expected to be out for at least a couple more weeks, but there was good news, with Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Ruben Loftus-Cheek declared fit for the trip up north.
So, what line-up will Tuchel go with against Newcastle? And, what will the final score be? We used FIFA 22 to get a score prediction.
Newcastle United vs Chelsea score predicted using FIFA 22
We used kick-off mode in FIFA 22, but didn't select a team to control, we then selected the teams and watched the match play out by itself, to give us a score prediction.
We reckon that the Magpies could set up in a 3-5-2 formation, with the line-up as follows: Woodman; Kratfth, Lascelles, Clark; Manquillo, Shelvey, Hayden, Almiron, Ritchie; Wilson, Saint-Maximin.
We also predict that Tuchel's side could set up in a 3-5-2 formation, with the line-up as follows: Mendy; Chalobah, Christensen, Rudiger; James; Jorginho, Kante, Loftus-Cheek, Chilwell; Mount, Havertz.
Chelsea have been known for their blunt and solid defensive record this season, but that became undone quite easily during the simulation as Newcastle took a shock early lead.
Some good link-up play between Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin saw the latter skip past Reece James and find Callum Wilson in the box, and the English striker tucked home from the penalty spot.
The Blues had a bunch of chances following the Newcastle equaliser, but their lack of natural striker was noticeable, with Kai Havertz and Mount failing to capitalise on many occasions.
The second half started with Chelsea still in control, and they found their equaliser when Loftus Cheek swept home.
Loftus Cheek was the more advanced of the Chelsea midfielders, and the Englishman played a quick one-two with Havertz before driving into the box and rolling the ball under Freddie Woodman in goal, despite Jamal Lascelles' best efforts to put Loftus-Cheek off balance.
It was proving a tough challenge for Tuchel's side, but they took the lead with just over 10 minutes remaining through the man in form, Mount.
A much-deserved goal, Mount scored for the Blues when he met a cross in the box with a driven volley, and it ended up being the winner, keeping them top of the Premier League as Newcastle struggled once again.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Newcastle 1-2 Chelsea
Here are the full-time match stats:
FIFA 22 predicts that goals from Loftus-Cheek and Mount will see Chelsea come from a goal behind to win 2-1 against Newcastle, seeing Tuchel's side remain at the top of the Premier League.
What do you think the score will be between Chelsea and Newcastle on Saturday afternoon? Let us know in the comments!
FIFA 22 is the latest game within EA's popular FIFA video game franchise, which released worldwide on Friday, October 1, 2021. The game is available now on all platforms including Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Stadia and PC.
