Chelsea v Sunderland: Prematch Information

Chelsea v Sunderland: Prematch Information

Posted by David Aniemeka on Tuesday, 3 December 2013 0

It's the first of two pre-Christmas trips to Wearside
with the league fixtures taking the Blues there on
this occasion. Club historian Rick Glanvill and club
statistician Paul Dutton work out what to make of the
Mackems…
TALKING POINTS
Jose Mourinho has suggested the next flurry of
matches may 'clarify' the positions of the six current
title contenders. The way the fixtures have been
ordered has already irked the Chelsea manager
several times this season.
This week it does seem odd that some teams
(notably Arsenal and Manchester United) will now
play two games with home advantage in rapid
succession while rivals (Chelsea and Man City) play
twice on the road.
The arrangement is all the more galling, of course,
because of Chelsea's self-inflicted disparity between
home and away form. The Blues have dropped just
two points at the Bridge but to date on our travels
just two of the six games have produced all three
points.
On the positive side both away venues over the next
four days have been happy hunting grounds in
recent years. The Blues have not lost at Stoke City
since April 1975 and have netted 15 goals in the last
five Stadium of Light trips, an average of three per
game.
KEY STAT
Chelsea are hoping for a ninth successive Premier
League victory against Sunderland at the Stadium of
Light.
Sunday's match was proof that if you hope to prosper
in the cut-and-thrust of the Barclays Premier League
you've got to pick a Pochettino or two. After
conceding so early to Southampton it took an astute
tactical switch to crucify the Saints.
This one was classic Special One: Demba Ba on to
make two upfront, two-on-two in the centre, with the
defence pushing up. The change meant
Southampton were pinned in their own half,
unusually for them, and outnumbered in danger
areas.
Ba crowned an impressively aggressive performance
with a flicked goal - his first in the league since
March. Two of centre-backs hit the target in the same
top-flight match for the first time since Fulham away
in April.
Surprisingly Gary Cahill had not scored in the
league since Spurs away in October 2012. Was that,
as he told MOTD2, a 'duck off his back' or did he
break his monkey? Who cares - it was a superbly
agile header from the Yorkshireman, almost dolphin-
like.
John Terry is now the highest-scoring defender
(penalties excluded) since the Premier League began
in 1992. He also eased past 1960s-1980s stalwart
John Hollins into fourth on the club's list of all-time
appearance makers with 593 in all competitions.
Another symbol of Sunday's turnaround was Juan
Mata battling the ball away from impressive full-
back Luke Shaw shortly before Chelsea's second goal
- from his assist.
People are probably still rightly swooning at the
Spaniard's half-volleyed defence-splitting pass to
Eden Hazard during the Blues' best spell. It was his
work off the ball as well as on it that really helped
shackle the Saints, though.
Chelsea are top class retrievers this season. The
Southampton result was the Blues' second win from
a losing position this season. Coupled with two draws
salvaged from similar positions, Chelsea have
reclaimed eight points this campaign - more than
any other team, and testament to the character and
resourcefulness of the squad.
Only Man City have scored two-plus goals in a game
more often than the Pensioners' nine in 13 matches.
Leaders Arsenal and Southampton have the joint
tightest defences in the top flight having conceded
10 times. Chelsea have let in 11; the tally of tonight's
opponents Sunderland is 24 - almost two a game.
However former Stamford Bridge idol Gus Poyet
appears to have stopped the rot since taking over as
manager a month ago. Two of their last three games
ended in clean sheets and they are off the bottom of
the table, albeit five points from safety.
If a Premier League table was produced from when
Poyet took over on 8 October to the present,
Sunderland would be 12th with seven points from six
games. In the next five days the Uruguayan's 100 per
cent home record will come under threat from his
two former playing clubs, Chelsea and Tottenham.
The attacking midfielder had already established
himself as a Chelsea fans' favourite before scoring
one of the great opening day goals seen at Stamford
Bridge, a dramatic volley from Gianfranco Zola's
sublime scoop, in August 1999.
The man who moved Poyet on from the Bridge in
summer 2001, Claudio Ranieri, was in charge the last
time we failed to win at the Stadium of Light - a 0-0
draw in December 2001.

Sent From David Aniemeka