Chelsea vs Sunderland – The Title charge continues

Chelsea host Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Saturday for a game which their fans will hope will begin their four-game charge to the Premier League title. 

Date: Saturday, 19th April  Venue: Stamford Bridge  Kick-off: 17:30 GMT  On TV: Sky Sports SNF

Manchester City’s 2-2 draw at home to Sunderland on Wednesday evening means that the title lies in the hands of both Chelsea and Liverpool, with four wins for either side guaranteeing their club the title.

Three of Chelsea’s four remaining league games are against sides who find themselves in the bottom half of the table, starting with bottom club Sunderland this Saturday.

Somewhat surprisingly for many Chelsea fans, following away defeats to Villa and Palace, the Blues find themselves second in the table, two points behind leaders Liverpool, and the Champions crown a realistic possibility come four games time.

Chelsea and Sunderland have already met twice this year, sharing the results between them. Chelsea prevailed in a thrilling league game that finished 3-4, before Sunderland came out 2-1 winners in the League cup just two weeks later.

Despite their league position, Sunderland have proved to be no push overs, most recently when they helped Mourinho’s side out with that 2-2 away to title challengers Manchester City in a game that the Black Cats led until late on.

Chelsea have proved once again that they can grind out results, following their 0-1 win over Swansea City last weekend where Demba Ba was the hero once again.

Saturday’s opponents sit rock bottom of the Premier League, six points from safety with some vital fixtures to come against fellow strugglers such as West Brom, Cardiff and Swansea City.

However, it has been opponents such as this that have caused Chelsea trouble in recent times, and if they are to go on to win all four games to take them to Premiership glory, Saturday’s game must be a comfortable victory, especially at the fortress that is Stamford Bridge.

The big game for Chelsea will surely be the crunch tie at Anfield; however, the game will only hold any meaning if Chelsea do what is expected of them and win the games leading up to it.

It’s three wins in a row for the Blues following the defeat to PSG in Paris, while Sunderland are without a league win since their win against Newcastle on February 1st, a run spanning nine games.

The Black Cats will need to start picking up points quickly, however, if they are to avoid the dreaded drop to the Championship and a win against Chelsea would surely inspire their fight against relegation.

The game will also see a reunion with former Chelsea player Gus Poyet as the Uruguayan takes his place in the opposition dugout; his reputation with Chelsea fans can only have been enhanced with Wednesday’s draw against Chelsea’s rivals Manchester City.

Chelsea will be encouraged by the stat that their defence have shut the opposition out 8 times in a row at home in all competitions now as they continue to boast the best defence and most clean sheets in the league.

Offensively, however, Mourinho is likely to be without key man Eden Hazard once again as he continues his treatment on a groin injury sustained against PSG. Andre Schurrle and Willian are the likely candidates to take the Belgian’s place.

Samuel Eto’o appears to have shaken off his injury having played a part in the win over Swansea last weekend, meaning Chelsea have no further injury worries.

Demba Ba will surely feel he has done enough to merit a start for Chelsea, following crucial goals in the Blues last two games, while Fernando Torres seems to drift further away from the starting line-up every game.

Finally, we can surely expect to see Nemanja Matic and possibly Mohamad Salah, as the duo cannot play Tuesday’s tie against Athletico and Jose will see this as a chance to rest some key holding and attacking players.

Sunderland will surely be jaded following a valiant display against City, which Chelsea will hope to take advantage of as they begin their home straight to the Premier League title.

Chelsea fans will surely be confident of a win on Saturday evening, especially playing at home, but will be wary of the threat that ‘smaller’ teams and even Sunderland in particular have posed to them already this season.

Chelsea vs Sunderland: Pre-match facts
  • Chelsea have scored at least 2 goals in 19 of their last 22 Premier League matches at Stamford Bridge
  • Demba Ba has now scored four goals in his last five appearances for Chelsea in all competitions
  • Chelsea have won 57 of their 116 games vs Sunderland, drawing 21, losing 38
  • Sunderland have won just 8 of their 57 games played at Stamford Bridge
  • Demba Ba is the second-most efficient striker in the country behind Sergio Aguero, scoring a goal every 95.6 minutes

Source: Opta/ChelseaMad

Chelsea vs Sunderland: Predicted lineup

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Matic, Ramires; Salah, Willian, Schurrle; Ba

Prediction: Chelsea 3-0 Sunderland

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