Sunderland and Chelsea are both in the mix to secure European football with one match left in the Premier League season and the Blues can round off a difficult season with a victory at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.
The Black Cats are 10th in the Premier League table and will move ahead of Chelsea if they win, but the Blues start out one point ahead in eighth place with a chance to overhaul Brighton for seventh if the Seagulls lose to Manchester United.
Sunderland came from behind to win the teams' first league meeting of the season 2-1 with a late winner from sub Chemsdine Talbi but they have lost four of their last six home matches.
Sunderland v Chelsea Tips Summary
Best Bet - Chelsea to win @ 1/1
Alternative Bet - Joao Pedro anytime goalscorer @ 13/8
Bet Builder - Over 2 goals, Joao Pedro 2+ fouls won, Marc Cucurella 1+ shots, Brian Brobbey 1+ shots on target @ 6/1
Sunderland v Chelsea Prediction
Best Bet: Chelsea to win @ 1/1
Chelsea's hopes of a top-five finish faded with their dreadful run of six successive league defeats but they have snapped out of that with an away draw against Liverpool at Anfield and a 2-1 home win over Tottenham in their last two games and they can end Calum Mcfarlane's latest stint as caretaker manager with a victory.
The Blues have received a welcome injury update, with top scorer Joao Pedro and defenders Reece James and Levi Colwill all potentially returning for the season finale, and they can show incoming manager Xabi Alonso that he doesn't have to start completely from scratch.
In between their last two league outings, Chelsea put up a fair effort in the FA Cup final against Manchester City, losing 1-0 at Wembley, and they should be seen as favourites against a Sunderland side who have scored only one goal in their last four home games.
The Black Cats have a solid home record overall with only four league defeats in 18 games, but those have all occurred since February and include a shocking 5-0 thrashing by Nottingham Forest.
Sunderland won for the first time in five games with three second-half goals at Everton last Sunday but Chelsea, who have achieved half of their 14 league wins this season on the road, should have the better of things if they can put their best foot forward.
Alternative Bet: Joao Pedro anytime goalscorer @ 13/8
Joao Pedro can have a more satisfactory end to a difficult week by adding to his tally of 15 Premier League goals this season against Sunderland.
The Chelsea striker missed out on Brazil's World Cup squad earlier this week and has also been dealing with a knock that caused him to miss the home win over Tottenham on Tuesday, but he is expected to be back in action for the trip to the North East.
Pedro had scored against Nottingham Forest in his team's previous Stamford Bridge fixture and should fancy taking on a Sunderland defence that could be missing the injured Omar Aldarete as well as the suspended Dan Ballard.
Sunderland v Chelsea Bet Builder Tip
- Over 2 goals
- Joao Pedro 2+ fouls won
- Marc Cucurella 1+ shots
- Brian Brobbey 1+ shots on target
Pays 6/1
Start a four-leg Bet Builder for Sunday's match by taking at least three goals to be scored. A draw is of no particular use to either side if they want to sneak a European place and that should result in an open contest.
Pedro is a regular target for opposing defenders and his nimble movement can often see him winning fouls, so take him to earn at least two free kicks, while Blues wing-back Marc Cucurella loves to get forward and can be expected to fire off at least one shot, as he has in two of his last three games.
Complete the bet by taking Sunderland's Brian Brobbey to have a shot on target. The Dutch striker had two accurate efforts in the draw against Manchester United before scoring in his last outing against Everton.
Learn more about how Bet Builders work in our Bet Builder guide.
Key Match Stats
- Both teams have scored in nine of the last 11 Premier League meetings between these teams
- Sunderland have drawn seven Premier League games 1-1 this season
- The Black Cats have lost only four of their 18 home league fixtures
- Five of Chelsea's last seven league matches have produced over 2.5 goals
- Sunderland have failed to score in four of their last six home league games
- Moises Caicedo is third in the Premier League bookings list this season with 11 yellow cards
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
