Chelsea kept up their winning run in the Premier League at the expense of West Bromwich Albion in the weekend. It was far from a convincing win for the Blues. Diego Costa punished Gareth McAuley for an individual mistake to stretch Chelsea’s winning run to nine in a row in the Premier League. Antonio Conte will care the least about how convincing the win was, though.
Chelsea will travel to the north east of England on Wednesday to take on David Moyes’ Sunderland who have a relegation battle to come out of. The Black Cats have improved to some extent lately but a humbling defeat against fellow strugglers Swansea City will concern the fans. Sunderland need inspiration badly and any kind of upset on Wednesday will do.
Chelsea are on the back of a nine-game winning streak, but in the last three occasions, it was not that straight forward. We have to wait and see if Conte’s boys can come back to their best on their travel to the Stadium of Light. Top of the table vs bottom of the table- this game should be straight forward, but you never know in the Premier League. Both teams will be desperate to win but for very different reasons.
Team news
Sunderland
Moyes will be without long-term absentees Duncan Watmore (knee), who is out for the rest of the season, and Lee Cattermole (hip injury) while Paddy McNair remains out with a cruciate knee ligament injury. The game will also come too soon for Fabio Borini (groin) and Jack Rodwell (hamstring).
Chelsea
Skipper John Terry is a minor doubt for the game. John Obi Mikel, Todd Kane, Oscar dos Santos and Ruben Loftus-cheek are all missing for the Blues.
Predicted lineups
Sunderland (4-4-2): Pickford; Van Aanholt, Djilobodji, Kone, Jones; Pienaar, Denayer, Larsson, N’dong, Defoe, Anichebe.
Chelsea (3-4-3): Courtois; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill; Moses, Kanté, Fabregas, Alonso; Willian, Costa, Hazard.
Key players
Sunderland – Jermain Defoe
Sunderland’s only ray of hope this season has been Jermain Defoe. The English veteran was the key reason behind Sunderland’s survival last season too and this season, he has been brilliant once again. 8 goals and 2 goals from 15 games- Chelsea gotta keep an eye on the 34-year-old.
Chelsea- Diego Costa
Costa is in the form of his life right now having scored 12 Premier League goals already this season. The Spanish international is at the very top of his game right now and it looks like there is no stopping him at the moment.
Odds
Sunderland to win: 9/1
Draw: 23/5
Chelsea to win: 31/100
