Sunderland v Chelsea Betting Tips

Bottom takes on top as Sunderland host Chelsea on Wednesday night.

Sunderland had actually been on a decent run in recent weeks, picking up wins against some of the lower sides in the division which temporarily lifted them off the bottom of the table. However, they capitulated at the weekend and suffered an incredibly damaging 3-0 defeat to fellow relegation strugglers Swansea City which plonks the Black Cats back at the foot of the table.

David Moyes’ team have showed that they are more capable defensively than they had been earlier n the season – conceding just two goals in their three wins whilst they also looked pretty solid against Liverpool and were unlucky to lose 2-0.

Another thing going for Sunderland is their front-line pairing of Jermain Defoe and Victor Anichebe. The former is one of the best Premier League poachers we have ever seen and is guaranteed to score goals in whatever team he plays – hence why he is the fifth top scorer in the league at the moment, while Anichebe has hit a purple patch and the big man is a perfect foil for Defoe.

The Black Cats have had a good time at their home ground of the Stadium of Light recently with two consecutive wins. The locals are now getting back onside with their team.

The only problem with all of the above advantages is that they pretty much pale into insignificance when you see who they face on Wednesday.

Chelsea are three points clear at the top of the Premier League and are no doubt the best side in the division at the moment having won their last nine matches. With Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Jose Mourinho at Manchester United, not many expected Antonio Conte’s side to have a chance at the title. However, it now looks whoever finishes above them will win the league.

Early on in their winning streak they tended to be blitzing teams off the park, bu recently they’ve had to grind out results – something that will please Conte more than the thrashings that were dished out beforehand. They may have to do something similar against Sunderland on Wednesday.

The Blues have no real weaknesses at this moment in time as they look defensively sound and frighteningly clinical up front.

As you would expect from a team in Chelsea’s position, they are excellent away from home – winning their last four Premier League matches on the road and conceding just once in the process.

The first market to look at here is ‘Chelsea to Win to Nil‘ which I am surprised comes in at odds as high as 5/4. Chelsea are too good defensively, even for a goal-scorer like Jermain Defoe to have a chance.

Although I do expect a Chelsea win, I think Sunderland might be capable of making it difficult – just like West Bromwich Albion did at the weekend and thus an overly high-scoring game is anticipated. We could be talking about just two, possible three goals here, which at 11/10, is worth supporting in the form of ‘2-3 Total Goals’.

Striker Diego Costa is back to his best for Chelsea after his disappointing 2015/16 campaign and is the league’s top scorer with 12 goals. With this in mind, I like the look of ‘Diego Costa to Score Anytime and Chelsea to Win 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1’ at a very nice 5/1.

See more Premier League tips here.