Sunderland vs Chelsea

Time : 8:45 pm

Venue: Stadium of Light

[size=18pt]MATCH PREVIEW[/size]

---

League leader Chelsea travels to bottom placed Sunderland on Wednesday, looking to continue their winning streak in quest of their first Premier League title under new manager Antonio Conte.

Chelsea is in a phenomenal form this season as the London giants have won their eighth consecutive Premier League games. With 37 points safely stuck into their pockets, the Blues are currently on the summit of the Premier League standings.

Conte’s Chelsea will try to replicate their brilliant displays on the recent games, and grab three points against struggling side, Sunderland.

Nothing could have gone more wrong for the Black Cats this season as they find themselves at the bottom of the Premier League table. David Moyes’s team has failed to put on decent performances, which has left them with just 11 points from 15 games played so far.

credit: inquisitr.com

However, Sunderland possesses the upper hand against leaders Chelsea when it comes to history. The Black Cats have won three out of their six matches against Chelsea, while the latter has bagged just two wins in the same number of endeavors.

Team News: Sunderland

---

Major concerns of injury reside on David Moyes’s team.

Englishmen Jack Rodwell and Lee Cattermole are ruled out of the match due to hamstring and back injuries, respectively.

Midfielders Ducan Watmore and Lyndon Gooch will also miss the clash against the league leaders due to their knee and ankle injuries, respectively.

Strikers Jermain Defoe and Victor Anichebe will lead the attack from the front for the Black Cats.

Sunderland: Predicted Line-up (4-4-2)

---

Pickford — Jones, Kone, Van Aanholt — Ddilobodji, Denayer, Pienaar, Larsson, Ndong — Anichebe, Defoe

Team News: Chelsea

---

Injury concerns for Chelsea are relatively minor as only a few players are unfit ahead of the clash against Sunderland.

Captain John Terry is yet to recover from a muscle injury he picked up before the Spurs game, and he is expected to remain sidelined.

Kurt Zouma and Marco Van Ginkel have recovered from their injuries. However, they will be not in Antonio Conte’s starting lineup due to the lack of match fitness.

Attacking midfielder Oscar was ruled out of the match against West Brom due to an illness. He is doubtful for the selection against Sunderland as well.


One of the vital reasons for the Blues success this season is their consistency in starting XI. Antonio Conte seems to have found his perfect team, which is why he hasn’t rotated his team much. So, we expect no changes in the Chelsea team against Sunderland.

Chelsea: Predicted Line-up (3-4-3)

---

Courtois — Cahill, Luiz, Azpilicueta — Alonso, Kante, Matic, Moses — Pedro, Hazard, Costa.

Key Stats to consider

---

=>Sunderland has won only three out of their 15 Premier League matches so far.
=>Sunderland has won three out of their last six matches against Chelsea.
=>Chelsea is unbeaten in their last eight Premier League matches.
=>Chelsea has lost only two of their 15 Premier League matches so far.
=>Chelsea has scored 21 goals in their last eight Premier League matches.

Up Chelsea

Chelsea all d way!

I just like d way d EPL is.
The league is 'CALM' @ d top... C-helsea A-rsenal L-iverpool M-an City.

Hope to c t so till d end of d league.

Always little hard for Chelsea