Levi Colwill of Chelsea
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Chelsea FC Training and Press Conference
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Xabi Alonso manager / head coach of Chelsea celebrates with Moises Caicedo and Levi Colwill
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Granit Xhaka and Xabi Alonso
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Brian Brobbey of Sunderland has a chance while under pressure from Wesley Fofana of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Sunderland and Chelsea at the Stadium of Light
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FBL-EUR-C3-SUNDERLAND-DINAMO
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Xabi Alonso, Manager of Chelsea
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TNT Sports pundit, Peter Crouch speaks prior to the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Chelsea
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If Chelsea go to Sunderland and win, Xabi Alonso’s side will have picked up four Premier League wins from five since the first international break. Peter Crouch and Steve Sidwell think they’ll do it in style.
Going into the first break of the season, Chelsea were in disarray. Three games without a win, they had just been hammered by Brentford. Since then, the Blues have turned it around, despite losing to Spurs.
Wins over Bournemouth, Everton and then Man United have pushed Alonso’s side back into the top four. That is despite suffering the second-highest number of injuries among Premier League clubs this season.
Now, they go to Sunderland, the same fixture as on the last day of 2025-26. Chelsea were beaten 2-1, largely thanks to Wesley Fofana’s red card. It saw Calum McFarlane unable to deliver European football.
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Peter Crouch and Steve Sidwell expect fireworks on Wearside
This season, however, Sunderland are rock-bottom of the Premier League as Regis Le Bris’ side struggle with juggling Europa League football alongside domestic duties. Just one win in their nine league games.
On That Peter Crouch Podcast, Crouch and former Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell gave their predictions. Both expect Chelsea to go to The Stadium of Light and cruise to an easy win, predicting 3-0 and 4-0.
How confident are you that Chelsea can get the better of Sunderland? ⚽
DrawSunderland
If Fofana plays against Brobbey, then 3-1 to our Chelsea. If Anselmino somehow plays against Brobbey, 3-0 to our Chelsea. Going to be down to the CBs and the midfield pairing. I hope Lavia starts and plays the whole match.
I think Chelsea's going to win, I just hope that won't come with more injuries and red/ yellow cards
Crouch summarised: “Poor result on the weekend. They were brilliant last season. Could they carry it on? Too many sloppy errors; Chelsea, for me, still like watching them play. They’re very exciting to watch.”
Sidwell added: “I’ll go first on this one, boys. This will be on a Sunday, because Sunderland are in Europe on Thursday, always after a European game on a Thursday, they can get done. I’m going Chelsea 3-0.”
Crouch responded by going one better: “I’ll go 4-0 then.” Pressured to go to 5-0, Crouch joked: “I am my own person; it’s my head on the chopping block, and if I get fired, it’s my philosophy.”
Xabi Alonso’s selection dilemmas ahead of Sunday clash
The last thing Alonso will have wanted is to have to make changes to his starting XI, after beating Man United last time out. But the Spaniard certainly has some decisions to make when choosing his side.
Fans are fed up of Wesley Fofana, even if his stats are not as bad as they suggest. Many would like to see Aaron Anselmino given a run out, with the defender back in training and included in the Argentina squad.
Emi Martinez is also back in training ahead of schedule. Chelsea’s no.1 is pushing Alonso to start him against Sunderland, while Moises Caicedo was missing from training this week, though it is unclear why.
If Caicedo is absent, Alonso could be forced into an eighth different midfield pairing of Jordan Henderson and Romeo Lavia. Estevao is likely to retain his spot with Joao Pedro injured, but it is not a certainty.