Sunderland vs Chelsea Betting Pick | English Premier

English Premier

2011-09-10 - Sunderland vs Chelsea

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Sunderland v Chelsea
Football : English Premier League
Saturday 10 September 2011 - Kickoff 3pm

Sunderland

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is under a bit of pressure at the Stadium of Light, by the fans more than the board, after spending a lot of money in the offseason but the side struggling to put together results to open this season, including an early exit in the Carling Cup.

The Black Cats are sitting in 13th spot in the Premier League after picking up 2 points from their opening 3 games of the season, but goals have been a problem. They have scored just 1 goal in the League and also failed to score at Brighton in the Carling Cup. To make matters worse, Sunderland lost their only game at the Stadium of Light to local rivals Newcastle United.

The lack of goals in the side has not really surprised me considering the amount of money they spent, but nothing on the forward options which were already missing Darren Bent and Danny Welbeck. Sunderland have rectified that, they hope, by bringing in Nicolas Bendtner, and they will need him firing if they want to avoid going 4 games without a goal.

Asamoah Gyan and John O'Shea have both had injury knocks, but Sunderland are confident both will play. Bendtner is set to make his debut.

Chelsea

Chelsea look loaded at the back and up front, but the lack of creativity in the middle of the park looked to be causing a problem for the side. However, the signings of Juan Mata and Raul Meireles looks to give them more options as Andre Villa-Boas looks to make an assault on the Premier League and Champions League.

The Blues are 4th in the Premier League having picked up 7 points from their opening 3 games, although there might be a slight disappointment they have failed to really turn in the performances to go with the results considering their opposition. Even with all the forward options, Chelsea have scored just 5 goals in their 3 games and have already conceded 2.

A 0-0 draw at Stoke in their only away game of the season is not a bad result considering who they are playing, but they were a little fortunate to beat West Brom 2-1 at home and needed a late penalty to get rid of Norwich 3-1. However, there was enough of a cameo from Mata in that game to suggest things will get better for the side.

There was some good news for Chelsea fans over the international break, and that was the return of Petr Cech. This will be especially well received considering Hilario's last performance against Norwich. David Luiz is also available again, but Didier Drogba will miss out after suffering a terrible concussion against the Canaries. Juan Mata and Raul Meireles are in contention.

Head to Head

To say Chelsea enjoy playing Sunderland would be an understatement- they have won 12 of the last 13 Premier League games against them, the only exception being the 0-3 home loss suffered last season.

Chelsea have also won 6 straight times at the Stadium of Light, including a 2-4 win last season.

Prediction

Sunderland have proven a tough nut to crack at home for the big teams over the last few seasons, but one team that has enjoyed their visits are Chelsea and I have a feeling they will be doing so again on Saturday.

The biggest complaint I have had about Chelsea is their lack of creativity and speed in the midfield, but the arrivals of Juan Mata and Raul Meireles gives them some players with the ability to drive forward with the ball and will also help the likes of Ramires who likes playing that way.

These two signings will definitely help create some chances for the front line, be it Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Daniel Sturridge or Romelu Lukaku.

The added benefit of having Cech back in goal will also give the defence a little more confidence and I think Sunderland's lack of bite up front could hurt them here.

I think the 1.73 on the away win is just tempting enough for me to bite, especially considering Chelsea's recent form here and Sunderland's struggles for goals.

The Statistics :

SUNDERLAND LAST SIX HOME FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2011-08-20	L	0-1	H v Newcastle
	2011-05-14	L	1-3	H v Wolves
	2011-04-30	L	0-3	H v Fulham
	2011-04-23	W	4-2	H v Wigan
	2011-04-09	L	2-3	H v WBA
	2011-03-20	L	0-2	H v Liverpool

CHELSEA LAST SIX AWAY FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2011-08-14	D	0-0	A v Stoke_City
	2011-05-22	L	1-0	A v Everton
	2011-05-08	L	2-1	A v Man_Utd
	2011-04-16	W	1-3	A v WBA
	2011-04-02	D	1-1	A v Stoke_City
	2011-03-07	W	1-3	A v Blackpool

HEAD TO HEAD SUNDERLAND v CHELSEA
DATE	HOME	SCORE	AWAY
2011-02-01	Sunderland	2-4	Chelsea
2009-08-18	Sunderland	1-3	Chelsea
2009-05-24	Sunderland	2-3	Chelsea
2008-03-15	Sunderland	0-1	Chelsea
2006-01-15	Sunderland	1-2	Chelsea
2003-04-05	Sunderland	1-2	Chelsea