Chelsea – Sunderland

Chelsea will begin life without Mourinho today against Sunderland, but new boss Gus Hiddink will not be managing the team. Instead, coach Steve Holland will be on the bench.

After consecutive losses to Bournemouth and Leicester, Chelsea dropped to the 16th place in the Premier League, just one point above the relegation zone. The nightmarish scenario went on to get Mourinho sacked this week and it remains to be seen if Chelsea will improve its level of football, as some players were suspected to want to get Mourinho sacked.

Sunderland is on the back of two consecutive losses to Arsenal and Watford, but the Black Cats have actually improved a great deal recently. They clearly deserved to get something out of the Watford game last weekend and were in with a chance against Arsenal at Emirates until the last minute, when Ramsey made it 3-1. Before these two losses, Sunderland won two games in a row, so signs are good for the visitors. Sam Allardyce seems to have been a good choice to replace Dick Advocaat.

Bet on Chelsea vs. Sunderland with the highest Premier League odds at 1xBet.com.

Team news & lineups:

Chelsea will probably miss Hazard and Falcao, though both players have a chance to be involved. Sunderland won’t be able to count on Cattermole, Larsson and Coates.

Chelsea: Courtois – Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Azpilicueta – Fabregas, Matic – Willian, Oscar, Pedro – Costa

Sunderland: Pantilimon – Coates, O’Shea, Kaboul, Yedlin – M’Vila, Toivonen, Van Aanholt – Borini, Defoe, Watmore

My tip is Sunderland to cover a +1,75 asian handicap. If Gus Hiddink were managing Chelsea today I would think twice about this bet, as he is known to have an immediate impact on his team, but he will not be involved in any way in this match. Expect a negative atmosphere today in the stands, as the supporters are really angry with the players and will show their support for Mourinho.

There are a lot of things going against Chelsea today and if they win, it will probably be by 1 goal, after all Arsenal barely won 3-1 in injury time at Emirates against Sunderland two rounds ago. But the way Chelsea are playing and with Sunderland improving, you really can’t rule out another poor result for the Blues. I`m sure Chelsea is not even thinking about winning big, they need to approach this game in a pragmatic manner and get the three points no matter how ugly. Prediction: Chelsea – Sunderland 1-0.

Pick: Sunderland (+1,75 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.75 @ Sbobet
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 5.25
Event date: 19 December