Moises Caicedo shook off his fitness worries to start and captain Chelsea in their clash against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Xabi Alonso made two changes from the 2-0 victory over Manchester United, with Jordan Henderson and Pep Chavarria coming into the starting XI.
Henderson, who is a product of Sunderland’s academy, will play alongside Caicedo and Romeo Lavia in midfield. Meanwhile, Estevao must sit on the bench despite the Brazilian winger causing Manchester United issues last weekend. The bigger issue is in the backline, as Josh Acheampong fails to make the matchday squad. This means Marco Palestra switches from left-back to right-back, with Chavarria on the left. Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill are still in the middle of the backline, but the full-back pairing is a reshuffle against the Black Cats.
Mike Penders retains his place in goal, despite Alonso saying Emiliano Martinez was in contention after returning from a broken jaw. However, the Argentine is not in the squad, and Teddy Sharman-Lowe is in the squad as the backup. Pedro Neto remains as the central striker in the absence of the injured Joao Pedro. He is flanked by Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers. However, Alonso does have options in the form of Danny Welbeck and Emmanuel Emegha in attack if the false nine fails.
Aaron Anselmino is named among the substitutes for the first time in the league this season and could make his Premier League debut. Malo Gusto, Valentin Barco, Geovany Quenda and Nicoll-Jazuli complete the subs.
Granit Xhaka Captains Sunderland Against Former Leverkusen Boss Alonso
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Granit Xhaka will captain Sunderland against his former head coach from Bayer Leverkusen, where they won the Bundesliga together. Régis Le Bris has named an experienced-looking side, with Thomas Meunier, Nordi Mukiele, Luke O’Nien and Reinildo all playing.
However, the hosts are missing centre-back Omar Alderete due to suspension. They are also missing Dan Ballard, Habib Diarra and Romaine Mundle due to injury. Wilson Isidor, Nilson Angulo and Chris Rigg are on the bench to start. Brian Brobbey leads the line.
Sunderland are currently sitting at the bottom of the table, having only picked up five points from their nine games. They have failed to win any of their last eight league games, and Le Bris will be under pressure after losing 3-1 to Coventry and 2-0 at home to Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League on Thursday. They did, however, complete a league double over the Blues last season.