English Premier
2011-02-01 - Sunderland vs Chelsea
A Sports Betting Pick by Lamps
Football : England : Premier League
Tuesday 1st February 2011 - Kickoff 7:45pm
Sunderland
Last 5 Sunderland games at home : W3-D1-L1 F6-A3
Steve Bruce's Sunderland comes into this massive game with Chelsea looking to complete the double over the current double winners.
Sunderland sit in 6th place is having a great season under Bruce, the Mackems have 37 points and trail 4th placed Chelsea by only 4 points! I don't think they are realistic Champions League contenders but the table doesn't lie as they say and this team certainly has a chance of at least a Europa League place.
The key to their success has been their consistency and hard to beat attitude that has seen Sunderland lose just the 5 times this year. From the 5 defeats only 1 has been suffered at home and that was a shock 2-0 loss to Blackpool of all opponents, with no disrespect to Blackpool.
What makes this stat so good is that Man City (1-0), Arsenal (1-1) and Man United (0-0) have visited the Stadium of Light and all 3 failed to win here and given Chelsea were humiliated last time out at the Bridge by Sunderland there’s no reason to think that Sunderland can’t win this game.
A big blow is the loss of Darren Bent, the 11 goal man and club top scorer was sold a few weeks ago to Aston Villa and has already netted for his new club. The club was compensated with a high transfer fee but his goals are key to this side especially given the fact that only has 15 goals has been scored in 12 games at home this year.
Asamoah Gyan remains and he will certainly carry a lot of responsibility, his signing at the time was a big one for Sunderland and whilst he has 7 league goals it’s time for him to be the new hero at the Stadium of Light and a goal against Chelsea tomorrow would be a perfect start in the non-Bent era.
Team news is that Campbell, Meyler, Turner and Welbeck are out with doubts over Bardsley (virus) and key club captain Catermole (back). Bardsley should start but the skipper is likely to miss out or be benched as Bruce has yet to confirm the player's fitness.
Last time out two goal Richardson played behind Gyan and after his brace should retain his spot. Elsewhere recent signings Muntari and Sessegnon should both be in the squad but Muntari unfortunately has had passport difficulties and will miss out. Therefore the Benin playmaker will start along side Henderson in the middle of the park.
Predicted Sunderland Lineup:
Gordon, Onuoha, Bramble, Ferdinand, Bardsley, Henderson, Elmohamady, Malbranque, Sessegnon, Richardson, Gyan.
Chelsea
Last 5 games Chelsea away : W1-D2-L2 F7-A6
Defending Champions Chelsea halted their 3 game winning streak with a draw at Everton this weekend in the FA Cup but obviously maintained there brief but important unbeaten run to 4 games. To stand any chance of winning the league Ancelotti’s side must keep winning and picking up points, on Tuesday night his Chelsea side visit the Stadium of Light looking for revenge after his side were embarrassed 3-0 at the Bridge in November to this Sunderland side.
When we look at the Chelsea away form compared to the Sunderland home form it’s tough to make a case for the Blues. In the last 5 away games just the once have the Blues recorded a victory whilst Sunderland has lost just the once and that's their first all year!
The Chelsea away form for the whole season is still the 5th best in the league but for a title contending side it's not great with 4 wins in 12 and 5 defeats. Chelsea are conceding a goal a game and finding it really hard to score 2 or more to ensure that the points go away with Chelsea.
The Stadium of Light is a hard place to visit and despite Chelsea unbeaten in 4, the away form overall is just too inconsistent to see an away win and I think the most realistic result is a draw.
Team news is that Alex and Benayoun remain out whilst Zhirkov is a doubt. Lampard returned at the weekend and will start again on Tuesday with Mikel also being recalled as Ramires picked up a niggle and is likely to start on the bench. Up front it should be Drogba, Anelka and Malouda with the imminent Torres deal unlikely to take affect until the weekend. Other than Mikel coming in it’s as you were last time out.
Predicted Chelsea Lineup :
Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Essien, Lampard, Malouda, Drogba, Anelka.
The Betting Verdict
This is a game that Chelsea must win but given Sunderland had the weekend off and are so formidable at home it’s very unlikely to happen.
I expect both to score but neither to have enough to beat their counterparts in a 1-1 score draw.
Good Luck.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Sunderland 1-1 Chelsea
