Higginbotham believes Newcastle are too open, back to basics against Chelsea

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Newcastle face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Sky Sports pundit Danny Higginbotham has claimed on their website that Rafa Benitez will order his Newcastle United to shut up shop against Premier League champions Chelsea on Saturday afternoon.

The Toon travel to west London to face one of Benitez’s many former sides at Stamford Bridge, with the odds stacked firmly in Antonio Conte’s favour as he looks to earn three points.

Newcastle come into the match with just one win in their last nine league outings, picking up just one point from a possible 15 in their last five games. However, they will take positives from their comeback against West Brom on Tuesday night.

Higginbotham believes the gaps are becoming too great at the back for Newcastle and believes Benitez will instruct his side to defend against the Blues in order to get something from the match.

“They conceded two goals against West Brom from crosses into the box and they are actually getting outnumbered in the middle because the centre-backs are having to go out into the wide areas and become full-backs,” Higginbotham said.

“The recovery run for the likes of Jonjo Shelvey, Mikel Merino and the full-backs has been a lot harder than it normally would be because the gaps have been so great.

“That’s something that I believe Rafa Benitez will look at and say, ‘OK, we’re playing against Chelsea and nobody is expecting us to get anything so let’s go back to being more defensively strong’. I expect them to be more defensive against Chelsea and get back to where they were.”

Newcastle currently sit in 12th place in the Premier League and remain safe for now with five points separating them from the bottom of the league.

However, they could plummet down the league this weekend as they are expected to lose to Chelsea, while 13th-placed Everton play 14th-placed Huddersfield, while Bournemouth face Southampton at home.