Chelsea head into sunderland vs chelsea on Sunday with UEFA places still undecided after moving back to eighth with Tuesday’s win over Tottenham Hotspur. Sunderland sit two places and one point behind Chelsea, so the result at the Stadium of Light can still shift the final European race.
McFarlane’s selection boost
Calum McFarlane said there are no fresh injury concerns after the midweek win, and he added that Joao Pedro, Levi Colwill and Reece James could return for the final day. Joao Pedro and Colwill both trained on Friday at Cobham.
James also trained on Friday, but McFarlane said he would be assessed day by day. He said, “Reece trained today and we’ll play it day by day with him. He’s fit and in a good condition, but we know that we’ve had to manage Reece correctly over the last few games.”
Sunderland and Chelsea table pressure
Chelsea are chasing seventh-placed Brighton & Hove Albion, while Brentford are level on points with Chelsea but sit lower on goal difference. Brighton host Manchester United, and Brentford visit Anfield, which leaves Chelsea needing their own result at the Stadium of Light to keep control of their place in the European scramble.
Sunderland are coming off a comeback win over Everton and have already shown they can upset Chelsea this season, having won the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge. That makes the margin for error even smaller for a Chelsea side that cannot simply lean on reputation, even if the numbers in Wearside have usually favored them.
Wearside record and history
Chelsea have won 10, drawn two and lost one of their 13 previous Premier League visits to Wearside. They also beat Sunderland 3-1 at the Stadium of Light on 24 May 2015, when Diego Costa equalised from the spot and Loic Remy scored twice.
The sides have met in a final-day setting before, too. On 21 May 2017, Sunderland led Chelsea in the third minute at Stamford Bridge before Chelsea responded and went on to win the Premier League title nine days earlier.
Sunday now brings a different kind of pressure. Chelsea do not need a title finish, but they do need the points to stay in the mix for the remaining UEFA places, and Sunderland have already shown this week that they can turn a game around when the table says they should not.
