Premier League leaders Chelsea will be looking to record a tenth win on the bounce when they travel to the Stadium of Light on Wednesday night to take on bottom of the table Sunderland.
Chelsea look unstoppable right now, looking commanding most of the times while also showing the tendency to graft through games when needed.
The latter quality was on display last week on Sunday, as they overcame a resilient West Bromwich Albion 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to extend their winning run to nine games. As Tony Pulis’ men fought to thwart the Chelsea attackers, it looked likely that Chelsea’s winning streak would finally end.
However, the never-say-die spirit that Antonio Conte has instilled in his side eventually came through in one moment of brilliance from Diego Costa, as he hustled the ball off Gareth McAuley on the right byline to score past Ben Foster for his twelfth goal of the season and get the all-important three points for his side. Ahead of the visit to the North East, here’s the team news for the Blues.
Manager Antonio Conte has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the tie on Wednesday, with all of Chelsea’s first team regulars fit and available. Midfielder Oscar remains the only doubt for the Blues as he is still down with a virus. Meanwhile, club captain John Terry has been scheduled for a late fitness test and could make a return to the squad for the first time in over a month.
Nemanja Matic started in the win over West Brom on Sunday, having missed out in the 3-1 win over Manchester City two weeks ago with a knock. With Matic showing no signs of a niggle, the Chelsea boss is likely to persist with the same lineup that has brought in all the success in the nine match winning run since the start of October.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference though, Conte was coy when asked about the latest team news. He said: “At the moment I don’t know, I am not sure. It’s important today to check the situation and to see if we have all the players available. But I’m not sure at the moment.”
