CHELSEA PREVIEW
After the malaise of recent domestic results extended to Thursday night where Croatians Dinamo Zagreb and their “Bad Blue Boys”, it’s back to the bread and butter of the Premier League on Sunday afternoon. Arriving in SR5 are London heavyweights Chelsea, and they’ll be looking to extend the misery we’re experiencing whilst trying to improve their own league standing at presently. It’s a game that we need to get something positive out if we are to get out of our current predicament.
LAST MEETING
Chelsea’s last trip here was in the final league match of last season which in the final analysis was a memorable one for us all bedecked in red and white. “The Blues” arrived on Wearside in a state of disarray and were experiencing a season of horror. Trai gave us the lead in the 25th minute when he beat Robert Sanchez at his near post, a lead that was doubled five minutes after half time when French full back Malo Gusto diverted a BBB effort into his own net. Cole Palmer halved the deficit with a shot from outside the box but they would finish with ten men when Wesley Fofana was dismissed for two yellows.
How we would settle for a win like this on Sunday!
OUR OPPONENTS
Chelsea are under new management this season, and it’s a Head Coach that our skipper knows very well indeed. The man given the reins to try and get the visitors from the Kings Road back into the honours domestically and overseas, is Spaniard Xabi Alonso. Former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern München midfield player Alonso was Black Cats skipper Granit Xhaka’s Head Coach in Leverkusen during their remarkable 2023-24 campaign where Die Schwarzroten completed a domestic double. Blues fans will be hoping he brings silverware to them.
Alonso’s side this season lie in fourth place going into this batch of fixtures, eight points adrift of leaders and current champions Arsenal. They have won five out of nine played but remain inconsistent away from home. They seem to score and concede in bunches to be fair, so much so that some of their supporters think they are a bit of a charity case.
The squad is however stacked with quality. Aside of Palmer, Chelsea spent an astonishing £117 million to entice Morgan Rogers to swap the Second City for the “City”. It’s a fee that makes our £30 million spent on Habib Diarra and Malick Fofana look like pocket money to be fair. The king of sh*thousery himself, Argentine internationalist Emiliano Martinez, might feature after missing their last three games following a concussion at Everton. If he doesn’t make it, Belgian Mike Penders will continue to deputise. They present another tough test for us.
THE LADS
It’s pretty much a given to say that the Lads need to get back in that winners circle sometime soon if we are to avoid being cut adrift. Thursday evening, and in the second half especially, there were glimpses we can get out of this malaise with Nilson Angulo putting in a reasonable shift on the troublesome right wing spot. However, there are plenty of defensive issues that we need to address and resolve.
The line up on Sunday will probably be the best we can muster given the circumstances we are facing. Diarra is out for six weeks, Alderete is suspended following his red card at the CBS and Dan Ballard is still about a month away.
I wouldn’t be too shocked if RLB chooses this team, will it be his last one if things don’t go as planned though? The vultures are certainly out there for sure.
Roefs
Hume – Mukiele – Danso – Reinildo
Xhaka – Sadiki
N.Angulo – Le Fée – Fofana
Brobbey
REF WATCH
Sunday’s man in charge is the man from Down Under, Jarred Gillett. A Premier League referee since 2021, the official from Australia’s Gold Coast last officiated the Lads in our 1-1 draw at AFC Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium last season. This season he has issued 28 yellow cards from the six Premier League games he has refereed. His most high profile games have been the 2024 FA Community Shield and last season’s Championship Play-Off Final.
