Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher
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Joao Pedro of Chelsea
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Reece James and Enzo Maresca celebrating with Club World Cup trophy
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Graham Potter, head coach of Sweden, is seen during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round Of 32 match between France and Sweden at New York New Jersey Stadium
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Head Coach Thomas Tuchel with Cole Palmer of England after he is subbed during the international friendly match between England and Japan
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Brian Brobbey of Sunderland is awarded a penalty after a challenge by Levi Colwill of Chelsea
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Chelsea legend’s son has even better conversion rate than Joao Pedro after scoring vs West Ham
Andri Gudjohnsen celebrates scoring
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Not having Joao Pedro available for their trip to the Stadium of Light on Sunday afternoon is a blow for Chelsea.
Chelsea take on bottom-of-the-table Sunderland and will be without Pedro, who is still recovering from an injury. The expectation was always that Pedro would not recover in time.
It is a blow because of how devastating the 25-year-old has been in front of goal this season. In six Premier League games, Pedro has already scored five goals. He has also provided three assists.
However, there is someone who has been more clinical than Pedro and Europe’s other top strikers. And he is the son of a Chelsea legend!
READ MORE:Chelsea make totally bizarre decision ahead of Sunderland clash
Andri Gudjohnsen has higher shot conversion rate than Europe’s elite
Eidur Gudjohnsen’s son, Andri Gudjohnsen, currently plays for Championship side Blackburn Rovers and is doing well there. He scored against West Ham United on Saturday as Tony Mowbray’s side went on to beat Chelsea’s London rivals 2-1.
Gudjohnsen’s goal was quite a significant one. It was his 10th in the Championship this season and his 20th shot on goal.
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
It means Gudjohnsen now has a shot conversion rate of 50%. That is higher than Pedro’s (31%), Erling Haaland’s (26%), Kylian Mbappe’s (20%) and Harry Kane’s (9%), according to Not The Top 20 Pod.
Pedro’s shot conversion rate is still pretty high and scoring goals in general has not been a problem for Chelsea this season. Rather, it has been defending and midfield control.
Xabi Alonso’s side were at least able to keep a clean sheet against Manchester United last weekend after beating Michael Carrick’s men 2-0. However, in their match against Tottenham Hotspur before that, all of their problems came out.
Chelsea leaked more goals after conceding twice and were dominated in the middle of the park. They finished their London derby with just 31% possession.
Chelsea are being linked with Arsenal’s Martin Zubimendi again, and he has the kind of midfield profile that would help restore some order to the engine room. Of course, it is very unlikely that Arsenal would sell him in the middle of a title race.
Caicedo has hinted that he is ready to play against Sunderland, and Chelsea are always a much stronger side when he is in the team. But midfield, rather than the forward line, is arguably their main issue right now.