Key events
Fulham will be glad to go into this weekend with their manager still in place. Marco Silva was strongly linked with the Nottingham Forest job before Sean Dyche got it – and now he’s got to devise a plan to stop Nick Woltemade.
Mourinho and Benfica managed to do that in the Champions League on Tuesday but that left Newcastle’s wide players free to roam, as Louise Taylor says:
Benfica restricted the Woltemade to one touch inside their box but, ultimately, they could not handle Eddie Howe’s wingers, Anthony Gordon in particular. “We could not compete with their horsepower, their intensity, speed and physicality,” said Mourinho. “This tells me a lot about Newcastle’s true level. They are a team of giants and they have four lightning-fast wingers.” Silva, a compatriot and a friend of Mourinho, has reason to be worried, particularly as Howe says there is “much more to come” from his reshaped side.
This is the first time Chelsea and Sunderland have met in the Premier League since the final day of the 2016-17 season, when Antonio Conte’s side lifted the title after a thumping 5-1 win.
Sunderland have lost on five of their last six visits to the Bridge but they’ve had a couple of very notable victories there in the last 15 years or so.
There was Fabio Borini’s penalty that halted Mourinho’s title charge in 2014 and a 3-0 drubbing in 2010 that included a fine solo goal from Nedum Onuoha and some spectacular dancing from Bolo Zenden.
Some more on Marc Guiu from Will Unwin this week:
Marc Guiu started the season at Sunderland, having found himself out of Enzo Maresca’s plans and needing to learn about life in the Premier League after a slow first year in England. As a teenager arriving from Barcelona’s La Masia, it was not a surprise that the striker needed time to adapt even if he made a few cameos along the way before the Black Cats came calling. Then Liam Delap got injured and Chelsea were in a bit of a vice, so brought back Guiu. Sunderland gave him two substitute appearances in the league and he scored only in the Carabao Cup exit to Huddersfield, suggesting he might not be primed for life at the top of the table. Since then, however, he has shown Maresca what he can do, playing a half in the win over Nottingham Forest and scoring against Ajax. He will want to continue on this trajectory.
Newcastle v Fulham team news
Lewis Miley keeps his place for Newcastle after playing the full 90 minutes against Benfica in midweek. Sandro Tonali is on the bench.
Newcastle (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Burn; Joelinton, Guimarães, Miley; Murphy, Woltemade, Gordon.
Subs: Ramsdale, Schär, Tonali, Barnes, Krafth, Osula, Elanga, Willock, Ramsey.
Emile Smith Rowe makes his first league start of the season for Fulham, with Josh King dropping to the bench. Adama Traoré also makes the XI.
Fulham (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Diop, Bassey, Sessegnon; Lukic, Berge; Traoré, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Jiménez.
Subs: Lecomte, Reed, Cairney, Cuenca, Kusi-Asare, Castagne, Kevin, King, Amissah.
Chelsea v Sunderland team news
Marc Guiu starts for Chelsea. The teenage striker spent the first few weeks of the season on loan at Sunderland before being recalled after Liam Delap’s injury.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sánchez; James, Acheampong, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernández; Neto, João Pedro, Garnacho; Guiu.
Subs: Jörgensen, Adarabioyo, Fofana, Hato, Lavia, Santos, Estêvão, Gittens, George.
Bertrand Traoré starts for Sunderland against his former club. The winger played 16 times for Chelsea in the 2015-16 season under José Mourinho and Guus Hiddink.
Sunderland (5-4-1): Roefs; Hume, Mukiele, Ballard, Reinildo, Geertruida; Traoré, Sadiki, Xhaka, Le Fée; Isidor.
Subs: Patterson, Neil, O’Nien, Talbi, Rigg, Brobbey, Mayenda, Jones, Masuaku.
The afternoon’s fixture list (3pm BST kick-off unless stated)
Premier League
Chelsea v Sunderland
Newcastle v Fulham
European highlights
Borussia Mönchengladbach v Bayern Munich (2.30pm)
Brest v Paris Saint-Germain (4pm)
Championship
Blackburn v Southampton
Bristol City v Birmingham
Derby v QPR
Hull v Charlton
Middlesbrough v Wrexham
Millwall v Leicester
Sheffield Wednesday v Oxford Utd
Swansea v Norwich
Scottish Premiership
Dundee Utd v St Mirren
Falkirk v Dundee
Livingston v Motherwell
We’ll have coverage of Manchester United v Brighton (5.30pm) and Brentford v Liverpool (8pm) in the Premier League, as well as the Lionesses v Brazil (5.30pm), elsewhere later on.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to Saturday’s clockwatch. We’ve got two Premier League games coming up at 3pm (BST), with action at Stamford Bridge and St James’ Park as west London goes up against north-east England.
Fresh from dispatching Ajax in the Champions League in midweek, Chelsea are at home to Sunderland this afternoon looking to gain some ground on the leaders, Arsenal. Enzo Maresca’s side can go within two points of top spot with a win – but, then again, so can the visitors after their excellent start to the campaign.
Newcastle were also winners in midweek, making light work of José Mourinho’s Benfica. Today they’re up against Fulham, who are without a handful of regulars in what is approaching an injury crisis.
I’ll be bringing you updates from both games, with a particular focus on Stamford Bridge, while keeping across events in the EFL, Scotland and Europe’s major leagues.
Team news is on the way shortly. Do get in touch with your thoughts on today’s games (or the season as a whole) as well.
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