Newcastle must start Salomon Rondon against Chelsea

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Newcastle United have been given a challenging fixture list to start the season, with Chelsea at home next on the agenda. Their draw against Cardiff City last weekend was met with a mixed reaction. On one hand, they were down to ten men and managed to earn a point. On the other, they had a last-minute penalty awarded to them in the last minute, which Kenedy wasted.

Rafa Benitez will be pleased to get off the mark, but he will have been disappointed that his side wasted a golden opportunity to take all three points. They will go into this weekend as outsiders against Chelsea, despite triumphing in this fixture last season. The Blues have won both of their Premier League matches under Maurizio Sarri and look to be a dangerous attacking outfit.

Despite the disappointment over their transfer window, Newcastle did manage to make seven new signings during the summer. Benitez has been hesitant to throw them into the starting eleven, but the Spaniard must bring Salomon Rondon in this weekend.

The Venezualan international was the big-name striker signing made during the summer. Rondon arrived on loan from West Brom and he has immediately taken the famous number nine shirt. The pressure will be on the 28-year-old to score the goals for Newcastle this season.

He came on against Tottenham during the opening fixture of the season and caused problems with his physicality. Benitez will have been pleased with what he witnessed, but he continues to phase the striker in slowly as he didn’t feature at all against Cardiff. Although that may have been due to the sending off.

Last season, Rondon scored seven times in a struggling West Brom team. He hasn’t been prolific in the Premier League, but he has been playing for a team that don’t create a lot of chances for their strikers.

Newcastle are set-up to get the best from a striker like Rondon. They have creativity down the flanks and look to play counter-attacking football, with Jonjo Shelvey dictating the tempo from deep.

The on-loan striker will be desperate to be given a chance in the starting eleven and he could prove to be a great option this weekend. Rondon would be a handful for the Chelsea defence and provide an outlet for Newcastle in attack. He simply must start.