Prediction: Chelsea vs Sunderland



Verdict: Home win + both teams to score

Best Odds: 21/10

Bookmaker: bet365

The new English champions are looking to finish the season with yet another triumph and become the first ever side in the Premier League to win 30 games in a single campaign. Rock-bottom Sunderland, on the other hand, need to savour their final top flight fixture this term as nobody knows when they will return to the elite division.

Chelsea

Italian tactician Antonio Conte had his work cut out for him as he inherited a squad very low on confidence from Jose Mourinho, but he did a brilliant job getting the maximum out of his side, helping Chelsea pip quite a few top sides to the Premier League trophy. What is more, he did so while earning the respect of his players, fans and pundits alike, setting an example how a manager should behave over the course of the season. Conte’s incredible passion for the game clearly rubbed off on his players as the Blued dominated the proceedings from start to finish and they now have a chance to set the record for a number of wins in a single Premiership season. And having won last six matches in all competitions, chances are Chelsea will have no problems extending the run against bottom-placed Sunderland. As expected, once they league title was in the bag, the Italian gave his back-ups a chance to shine, and they did a decent job in the 4-3 victory over Watford. The new look back line looked quite shaky against the Hornets, leaking goals for fun and we can see even misfiring Sunderland get past them on Sunday afternoon.

Team News

Antonio Conte is expected to continue his rotation policy, with Cesc Fabregas likely to start alongside Nemanja Matic in midfield.



Sunderland

Sunderland have been going from bad to worse in recent years, and it was only a matter of time before they got relegated to the Championship. The Black Cats have been in the bottom three from the very start to the season and nobody was surprised to see them go down. It was quite surprising to see the club chiefs stick with David Moyes, who clearly had no solution for the poor results, and he eventually became a laughing stock of the English Premier League. Heading into the final fixture of the campaign 14 points adrift of safety, it is clear that the Black Cats weren’t even close to top flight survival and they already need to start preparing for the new Championship season. While they managed to put the final nail into Hull City’s coffin and drag them to the second division, Sunderland lost 10 of last 14 games, while sharing spoils with Burnley and West Ham United at the Stadium of Light. Having also failed to score in four of last five fixtures, the Black Cats will attempt to prove they are not as bad as the results are showing and at least score a goal at Stamford Bridge.

Team News

Selection problems continue to mount for Sunderland as Paddy McNair, Steven Pienaar, Greg Honeyman, Duncan Watmore, Jan Kirchhoff, Victor Anichebe and Jason Denayer are all unavailable.

Key Factors to Consider

• Chelsea won 9 of last 12 meetings with Sunderland (D2 L1)
• Sunderland scored on last four visits to Stamford Bridge
• Chelsea chasing 30th victory of the campaign
• The Blues conceded 10 goals in last 6 home matches
• Sunderland lost 14 away games this season

Conclusion

New Premier League champions will want to finish the season in style and record a comfortable triumph over Sunderland, but their much changed defence cannot be trusted to keep a clean sheet. The Black Cats are unlikely to spoil the party for the Blues, but we do expect them to score at least one goal.

Verdict: Home win + both teams to score

Best Odds: 21/10

Bookmaker: bet365