With just ninety minutes of playing time before the end of the season, Chelsea welcome visitors Sunderland for the final game of a title winning campaign for the blues. Chelsea have wrapped up the title already and Sunderland have just reached safety from relegation so neither team have anything to play for. Coming into the game both Chelsea and Sunderland have two wins, two draws and one loss from their last 5 games. Last time out Chelsea seemed to lack motivation against West Brom, with this also being a pointless game, we can only hope Chelsea will find extra motivation to win and kick-off their celebrations in style.
Previous Meetings
The last five meetings at Stamford Bridge between the two teams has presented us with 3 home wins and 2 away wins. Sunderland have a respectable record at the bridge in recent years and have became somewhat a bogey team. In April 2014, the black cats defied expectations, ending Jose Mourinho’s 77 match unbeaten record at Stamford Bridge. In the last 3 games home or away between the two sides, Sunderland have won twice and drawn once. Chelsea will be hoping to find that winning formula this weekend to break their duck over Sunderland.
Team News
Cesc Fabregas will miss the match due to suspension after recieving a red card at The Hawthorns. Ramires, Oscar and Kurt Zouma will all be out of the game also after Mourinho declared that “the season is over” for the trio. Petr Cech is in contention and may well start his final game for the blues as he is expected to depart this summer. Jose has mentioned there’s a chance Andreas Christensen may be involved in the game and Chelsea fans will be hoping to see some other academy players involved too, namely Ruben Loftus-Cheek. There have also been reports today that Eden Hazard could miss Sunday’s game due to an emergency dental procedure. If so, this will be the first league game he would’ve missed this season.
Prediction
I predict this will be a hard fought game between the two teams, with Chelsea emerging as victors in a 2-1 result. With the Premier League Trophy presentation at the end of the game, I think the blues will want to send their fans off with a win, also making a point of being deserved champions. If Eden Hazard is confirmed as fit by Jose Mourinho in his pre-match press conference tomorrow, I can see the Belgian being the deciding factor as he has been all season.
