I think we all know who the danger man is going to be for Sunderland. 

Premier League legend: 

Most important thing is to respect our opponent, Sunderland don't show any good football at the moment but we can't disrespect them. 

We have to win this match, I expect from us to put a strong performance, improve our speed in the attack and move the ball much faster than we did against West Brom. 

I'd like to see this starting line:

-------------------------------- Courtois ------------------------------

-------- Apizlicueta -------- David Luiz ------- Cahill -----------------

Moses ---------- Kante ------------ Matic ---------------- Marcos Alonso

--------------------- Willian -------------------- Hazard ----------------------

---------------------------- Diego Costa -------------------------------

COME ON CHELS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its worth noting that Sunderland have the worse home record in the league, theyve managed 7 points from 7 games at home, 2 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses.

They managed to ship 14 goals in those 7 games and score 10.

 By contrast, we have the 3rd best away record, played 7, won 5, drawn 1 lost 1, we've scored 12 and left in 7.

On paper it all points to a Chelsea 2-1 win IMO but its never that easy in this league and not after a tough game against WBA but Swansea hit Sunderland for 3 at the weekend so I'd be bitterly disappointed if we didnt at the very least win, at this stage of the season, when congestion piles up, a win is a win so I'd take another horrible 1-0 everyday of the week.

I'd bring Willian back and start Cesc, mainly because Matic and KAnte, as well as Luiz and Costa, are all on 4 bookings. If we lose both Kante and Matic, even for one game, it would be very difficult for the 3-4-3 to function.

My team for Sunderland away :

Courtois

Azp Luiz Cahill

Moses Kante Cesc Alonso

Willian Costa Hazard

Edited December 12, 20169 yr by Delnino

I don't think they'll park the bus completely as WBA at the very least. Teams rarely do that in this league when they are playing at home i feel like.

Definitly have to be 100% concentrated and focused to get away with three points here. Defoe and Anichebe can be dangerous for anyone but we should be able to get at their defence and control the midfield. A win to make it 10 in a row would be massive. Can see Arsenal, Liverpool and United losing points this round so should be a chance to pull further ahead on at least one of those three teams if we do our job.

Sunderland is only with 11 points, they won't and can't perform like WBA as Albion is a far better team overall and defense wise. Think we will create far more chances and i feel some of the less active players should be given a start. We have Palace away who always step it up against us and we should have a full team for that one. Not sure how much rotation will Conte be making but he should consider that we can't play the same starting 11 for the entire season. I can accept that it is the winning formula but with so many games ahead of us we must rotate or we will tire our players.

On 11 December 2016 at 11:06, Beerqueen said:

JT's sending a Christmas card  and a signed shirt http://www.90min.com/posts/4252752-photo-john-terry-shows-touch-of-class-after-gesture-to-sunderland-fan-with-2-months-to-live?utm_medium=share&utm_source=fotmob

Can everyone send this lad a card, it's absolutely heartbreaking for any family to go through, this will bring a bit of joy into their lives.

We need to stop worrying about who's on 4 yellow cards and play our best team. Resting a player because you're afraid he might get 5 cards and ending up losing is just stupidity. If we lose them for a game then bring someone in. 

Not to jinx it but our December fixture list means we can afford to lose some of the big names and still win or alt least get a draw.

 

As for this game, I'm very confident. Defoe is lethal but I think our attacking talent will be too much for them. Come on Chelsea 

Edited December 12, 20169 yr by Ivanov87

Stadium of Light field size is slightly bigger than SB which hopefully would be beneficial for us and prevent Sunderland to set up like West Brom with a back line of 6 to nullify our Wing backs. I don't think Sunderland are as disciplined as West Brom either so I think we should be able to beat them fairly comfortably.

 

0-3

I think Cesc should start this game so that we can get early goals.  This relieves the pressure and can give us a chance to rest Diego Costa for the next game and avoid a yellow card!  I think it will be a tough game but not as tough as the West Brom one.  I expect a 2-0 win with Hazard and Guvnor on the score sheet.  

Can't wait - lets make it 10 wins on the trot!!!

Lets go chelsea

IMHO Luiz didn,t look 100 percent Sunday probably suffering from the Aguaro assault. If Zouma is fit I would use him and give Luiz a break. 

Fabragas/Matic/Kante either 2 from these 3 I would be happy with.

Top against bottom, yet this will likely be one of our toughest tests this season.

Wounded animals can be very dangerous.

Hope we make it 10 in a row, although there would be no shame in a draw.

I would start Cesc in this one, early goals could kill off their spirit. I don't think they have the same physical presence as WBA, think we could get away with Kante/Cesc in front of the back 3. Top against bottom team should be no contest, but EPL is crazy as it gets, so can't take this one for granted. Still, I fancy Costa score a hat trick if we can get an early goal, there were pretty hopeless against Sweansea.

I'm more worried about victor anichebe.  The guy is strong and obviously Sunderland will try bypass the midfield.  He is able to hold play and physically win battles against anyone!  Hopefully luiz has recovered100% and we will cope with whatever long ball or threat there pose.  I still expect a comfortable win!

Sunderland don't look to cause Chelsea too much trouble . Fabregas definetly proving his quality in the past two games. Should be a pretty easy sweep for Chelsea to make it 10 wins . Prediction 0-2

We can't take any game for granted, especially in the premier league, we all know how unpredictable it is. We should get the job done, but I expect Sunderland to make it as difficult as possible.

19 hours ago, ForeverCarefree said:

I think we all know who the danger man is going to be for Sunderland. 

Premier League legend: 

yikes completely forgot they have the 2015/2016 bundesliga player of the year

going to be very tough this one because of him marking diego, think we're going to nick it 0-6

 

Anyone expecting a stroll in the park will be disappointed.

Tough fixture. Cant get complacent.

I dont think complacency is an option under Conte.It will be a tough fixture and an early goal would quieten a noisy crowd (not ours though).Hoping for three points.....UP THE CHELS !

For those of you off up to the north-east tomorrow night, please ensure your tetanus and other vaccinations are up to date.

Fabregas needs to start. and no, i'm suggesting that not because i'm a "Fabregas minion" as someone suggested in the WBA match thread, because Matic isn't creative enough to break down teams that sit deep

19 minutes ago, magichat said:

Fabregas needs to start. and no, i'm suggesting that not because i'm a "Fabregas minion" as someone suggested in the WBA match thread, because Matic isn't creative enough to break down teams that sit deep

Why don't you marry Fabregas if you love him so much?

Lineup i'd like to see would be as follows

                         Courtois
          Dave        Cahill      Zouma
Moses      Kante          Cesc         Alonso
        Willian                     Hazard
                      Diego

The reason i'd go for Zouma in the team is because Luiz didn't look fully comfortable at the weekend, and against Anichebe and Defoe's combination of pace and strength, we need a fully fit back line. I think Zouma's pace and strength would really come in useful against those two.

Cesc is included because, as many have already said, we can expect sunderland to sit deep and we could really do with some incisiveness in our passing, this could be another game where a long pass unlocks a tight defence. I also think sunderland's attacking prowess is limited largely to their two main forwards, they aren't super creative, so we can possibly afford to let a little bit of combativeness go in midfield in order for Cesc to be able to control the tempo. 

Willian is in there for similar reasons to Cesc, we're going to have a lot of the ball no doubt, and i can't see much space in behind their line for Pedro to run into, so willian's on-the-ball ability would be better suited I think.

I can see this being a tricky game, but if we get the first goal it should open up and allow us more space, so i'm going for 0-2 to Chelsea

3 minutes ago, PloKoon13 said:

Why don't you marry Fabregas if you love him so much?

Fabregas' missus is a cracker, but I'm sure he could be tempted to elope with @@magichat 

Sunderland could arguably have less points too if it wasnt for some fine displays by Jordan Pickford.

Like the rest of you, I'm hoping we get an early goal and it sets us up for a 2-0 HT lead.

We can think of changing/resting players once the job is done.

 

Sunderland fans don't seem to optimistic about the prospect of Billy Jones facing Hazard so i hope thats an area we can exploit. Same goes for Van Aanholt actually who they don't seem to be impressed about eighter so Moses and Pedro/Willian might be able to do some damage on that side aswell.