Sunderland Vs Chelsea
Dec 4, 2013 at 7.45pm (UK)
Stadium of Light
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.
Click the next page to read about the probable line-ups and match facts: