Sunderland vs. Chelsea: Injury news, possible lineups, match facts, preview and prediction

Sunderland Vs Chelsea

Dec 4, 2013 at 7.45pm (UK)

?Stadium of Light

Can Mourinho continue to pile pressure on Arsenal at the top of the table?

After two back to back setbacks, Chelsea finally registered their first win in three matches as they overcame a shocking start to the game to beat a spirited Southampton side by a 3-1 margin. Juan Mata, who for longer periods had been relegated the bench for most of the season set up two goals which fueled the Blues comeback after half time. Jose Mourinho, also to his credit rung the changes at the break playing two strikers in Fernando Torres and Demba Ba, the latter who scored to stomp the authority of the deserving win.

The Blues now travel to the Stadium of Light to take on a struggling Sunderland who have rarely garnered the full points in their past games. The Black Cats are under severe pressure and the Chelsea game provides them a huge chance to prove a point in front of their own set of fans. Manager Gus Poyet would feel a bit relieved given his boys just managed to steal a vital point against Aston Villa.

Team News:

Chelsea:

Coming to team news, Mourinho will be expected to play Mata alongside Ramires and Lampard/Mikel while Hazard and Schurrle would take their positions on the flanks. The Mirror reports that, attacking midfielder Oscar and center-back David Luiz are set to miss the Sunedrland trip while Samuel Eto’o might return just in time to make it for the game.

Mikel Essien who started the game against Southampton might not feature with Frank Lampard taking his place in the heart of midfield alongside Ramires. In defence, Mourinho is expected to go unchanged as well, given both John Terry and Gary Cahill were very solid at the back and scored two on Sunday.

Sunderland:

Talking about Sunderland, Poyet would be expected to field his same eleven who managed to keep Aston Villa at bay this Monday. Poyet has received a major boost from him skipper John O’Shea who had a groin injury scare after the Villa match, but the defender as reported by Mirror should be back in contention for the Chelsea game.

Players to look out for:

Juan Mata:

The Spaniard proved a point to manager Jose Mourinho with a master class performance in midfield setting up two goals in Chelsea’s comeback. With major tabloids (according to the French website Sport24 Mata is linked with a move to PSG once again) linking him with a move away from Stamford Bridge come this January, Mata would be eager to get himself more gametime on the pitch and prove his credentials.

For Sunderland, once again the onus would be on the forward line rather than an individual who would get the Black Cats on the scoresheet. Moreover the onus would be on Lee Cattermole in the heart of midfield to control the tempo of flowing possession for the home side.

Possible starting lineups

Sunderland: Mannone; Bardsley, Dossena, Brown, O’Shea; Ki, Gardner, Larsson, Giaccherini; Borini, Fletcher

Chelsea: Cech; Cole, Terry, Cahill, Ivanovic; Mikel, Ramires; Mata, Hazard, Schurrle; Torres

Match Facts:

• Sunderland have scored just 12 goals in their last 14 Barclays Premier League matches at the Stadium of Light.
• Chelsea have won 16 and lost one of their last 17 Barclays Premier League games against Sunderland.
• Fernando Torres has scored six goals in seven Premier League starts against Sunderland – against no side has he netted more in the competition.
• Torres has scored three goals in his last three Premier League appearances at the Stadium of Light.
• Chelsea have only won back to back Premier League away games once in 2013.
• Sunderland have conceded more own goals than any other Premier League team this season (3).
• Chelsea have been caught offside more often than any other Premier League side this season (43 times).

Stats compiled from eurosport.yahoo.com

Predictions:

The Blues have won on their last eight visits to the home of the Wearsiders and going by current form there seems no indication of any other result that would come in mind. The home side have to play out of their skin to get anything out of this match in order to match Chelsea’s superiority on the pitch.

Given the plethora of midfield and talent at his disposal, anything less than a convincing victory for Jose Mourinho would be a sign of major worry considering Chelsea’s title aspirations. I would go for a 3-1 win for the Blues which would pile further misery for Poyet and his boys.

Blast from the past: