Eden Hazard’s penalty and DeAndre Yedlin’s own-goal in the second half gave Chelsea a 2-1 win over Newcastle United last Sunday, the club’s first on Tyneside since December 2011.
The victory made it three wins out of three for Maurizio Sarri in the Premier League, along with Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Watford, and next up it’s undefeated AFC Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Eddie Howe’s side beat Cardiff City on the opening weekend and West Ham United at the London Stadium before coming back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Everton, so suggestions it will be an easy game shouldn’t be taken seriously.
Sarri may have admitted that he hasn’t figured out his best team yet, but I don’t think we’ll see many if any changes to the team that achieved that groundbreaking win at St. James’ Park last weekend.
Here’s the starting line-up I think Chelsea will field as they look to 12 points out of a possible 12 before the international break.
GK - Kepa Arrizabalaga
Kepa hasn’t really had much to do so far in his Chelsea career, mainly due to the team in front of him’s ability to control the ball, and hasn’t been at fault for any of the three goals he’s conceded so far.
RB - Cesar Azpilicueta
Sarri is yet to name his club captain but Azpilicueta seems to be the clear favourite for the role and has looked good in his original right-back role, following a long stint in the centre of defence under Antonio Conte.
CB - Antonio Rudiger
Rudiger has looked like one of the more improved players under new management and has drawn comparisons with Kalidou Koulibaly, who became incredibly sought-after under Sarri at Napoli.
CB - David Luiz
Luiz’s poor form is quickly losing the Chelsea fans after he was given another chance by Sarri and many are calling for Christensen to replace him sooner rather than later.
His mistake almost cost the Blues two points at Newcastle as he continues to show a severe lack of understanding towards zonal marking, but I think he’ll keep his place come Sunday.
LB - Marcos Alonso
Alonso’s nomination for Premier League Player of the Month speaks for itself, he’s been terrific so far this term and looks set to spend another nine months as Chelsea’s first-choice left-back.
CM - N'Golo Kante
Kante’s attacking game seems to have improved dramatically since Sarri’s arrival and he still has minimal defensive flaws. The midfield relationship between him and Jorginho will only get stronger.
CM - Jorginho
The Italy international was a main-stayer under Sarri at Napoli and it’s likely to be the same at Chelsea as well. His cheeky penalty at Huddersfield on the opening weekend set the tone for a solid start to life in England.
CM - Ruben Loftus-Cheek
The deeper two players of Chelsea’s midfield three looks to be cemented but Sarri has three good options for the more advanced player in Mateo Kovacic, Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Kovacic struggled at Newcastle and Loftus-Cheek is bound to get some game time following his promising World Cup campaign with England.
RW - Pedro
Pedro will be looking to build on his good start to the campaign after scoring twice in the first three outings but will be hotly contested by Willian for a starting spot alongside Hazard on the flanks.
LW - Eden Hazard
Hazard marked his first start of the campaign with a goal last weekend and he’ll be hoping to get on the scoresheet once more against Bournemouth, despite finding the net in just two of his last 17 appearances at Stamford Bridge.
ST - Alvaro Morata
Morata appears to be Sarri’s first-choice striker at Chelsea after being regularly snubbed for Olivier Giroud by Conte and looks to be a certain starter for what should be a good battle with Cherries defender Steve Cook.