Match Preview: Chelsea FC v Sunderland

Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Chelsea will take the field Saturday at Stamford Bridge knowing that a win would see them reclaim top spot at the table after a surprising midweek result by our opponents, Sunderland. Sunderland come into this match fresh off a 2-2 draw against the Citizens of Manchester at the Ethiad Stadium Wednesday evening, and the Black Cats will surely be hoping to dent another teams title chances. The Blues won their previous match, a 1-0 result that seems to be a success until one realizes that Chelsea played a majority of the game with a man advantage and failed to take hold of that until late, with Demba Ba securing us another important victory.

Chelsea will welcome former Blues stalwart Gus Poyet back to Stamford Bridge, the Uruguayan was a club hero for his lung bursting runs and goal scoring out of the midfield position from 1997-2001. Despite some turmoil at Sunderland, he should remain at the helm for some time following such a key result against Manchester City.

Chelsea will most likely be without star forward Eden Hazard as the Belgian nurses the injury he sustained early on against Paris St-Germain in that crucial second leg victory.

While Chelsea will be playing for a continued shot at catching Liverpool and winning the Barclay’s Premier League title, Sunderland are seeking points in order to help them survive in the top flight. They currently sit at the bottom of the table, 6 points from safety and looking perilously close to relegation. Neither team can afford to slip up, so this match could be one for the ages despite the different trajectory of both teams.

Predicted Starting XI:

————————Cech———————
Azpilicueta—-Terry—-Cahill—-Ivanovic
—————-Matic——–Luiz—————
Schurrle———–Oscar————-Willian
————————Ba————————

We might also see Eto’o up front, as he has been scoring at home much more than away from SW6, however as Ba is the hot striker, I expect Jose Mourinho to keep him up front. Salah could get a start as well.

Prediction:

Chelsea 2-0. Fortress Stamford Bridge will come into play, and the Blues will go top for at least a day, and hope Norwich City can pull some magic against our Anfield rivals on Sunday!

UTC!

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