Chelsea travel to the Stadium of Light to take on Sunderland. Xabi Alonso’s men are currently sitting in 4th place in the Premier League on 16 points, while Regis Le Bris’ side are stuck at the bottom of the table on just 5 points from 9 games.
The form of the two sides has been very different recently. Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-0 last weekend, while Sunderland lost 3-1 at Coventry City and then 2-0 at home to Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League.
Both teams will be missing players, meaning we cannot be certain of the lineups. Chelsea are missing Joao Pedro, Maxence Lacroix, Reece James and Jamie Gittens. Emiliano Martinez, Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson are all doubts.
Sunderland are missing their central defenders Dan Ballard and Omar Alderete (suspended after a red card against Coventry). They are also missing Habib Diarra and Romaine Mundle. Nordi Mukiele is a doubt.
Last season, Sunderland beat Chelsea both at home and away. The 2-1 result on the final day of the season cost the Blues a spot in Europe. Here are three battles to look out for.
Brian Brobbey Vs Chelsea’s Centre-Backs
Brobbey is Sunderland’s most physical player and has been finding his form after an injury. He has scored all 3 league goals this season in a 5-3 loss to Manchester City.
He got off the bench against Dinamo and made an immediate impact by forcing a stop from close range. Brobbey is likely to come back into Le Bris’ side as the team have struggled to score goals.
With Lacroix missing, Brobbey should come up against Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill. If he wins the initial battle, Sunderland can play long balls into Chelsea’s backline.
Granit Xhaka Vs Chelsea Midfield
Xhaka is Sunderland’s captain. He is the tempo setter for the team from deep and set up Brobbey’s close-range chance against Dinamo.
His distribution is the main way that Sunderland will try to play over the top of Chelsea’s press. Romeo Lavia won 14 possessions against United and will try to get close to Xhaka.
The unknown in this battle is Caicedo’s fitness. If he is unavailable, Henderson will partner Lavia. This is a less mobile pairing to deal with Sunderland’s midfield runners.
Morgan Rogers & Estevao Vs Sunderland Backline
Sunderland have already let in 17 goals in the league from 9 games. They are also missing 2 of their starting central defenders. This gives a clear target for Chelsea’s ball carriers.
Rogers has been in excellent form this season, scoring 6 goals and providing 4 assists in all competitions. He played as the most advanced attacker against United and scored after running through their central defenders.
Estevao had 2 goals disallowed in his first league start of the season. If he can isolate the replacement defender on the wing, he can get the goal he missed out on against United last weekend.