Sunderland vs Chelsea Preview

The Stadium of Light is where Sunderland beat Chelsea 2-1 in May to complete a league double over them last season. Chelsea return on Sunday afternoon with the two sides at opposite ends of the Premier League table. Chelsea are fourth on 16 points, while Sunderland are bottom with five and come in on a two-game losing run. Kick-off is at 2pm GMT.

Sunderland have lost their last two and won one of their last five. Thursday’s 2-0 home defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League was the latest, five days after a 3-1 loss at Coventry. Before that, they beat Brentford 3-2 at home to go through in the Carabao Cup, drew 0-0 with Leeds at the Stadium of Light and drew 1-1 at Lech Poznan in Europe. That makes one win, two draws and two defeats, with five goals scored and eight conceded. Sunderland have had only three days to recover from Thursday’s game, five fewer than Chelsea.

Chelsea have three wins and two defeats from their last five, scoring 10 and conceding four. Saturday’s 2-0 home win over Manchester United was the latest, three days after they went out of the Carabao Cup on penalties at Liverpool following a 1-1 draw. Before those, they lost 2-0 at home to Tottenham, won 2-0 at Everton and beat Bournemouth 5-1 at home. Chelsea kept clean sheets in two of the five games, and half of their goals came in the Bournemouth win.

Sunderland have won three of the last five meetings to Chelsea’s two, including both games last season. The most recent was a 2-1 Sunderland win at the Stadium of Light in May 2026, and before that they won by the same score at Chelsea in October 2025. Chelsea’s two wins came in the 2016-17 season, 5-1 at home and 1-0 away, while Sunderland won 3-2 at home in May 2016. There have been no draws in the sample, and Sunderland have won two of the three meetings at the Stadium of Light.

Chelsea sit fourth in the Premier League on 16 points, while Sunderland are bottom with five. A Sunderland win would take them to eight points and out of the bottom three, up to 17th on current standings.

In the UK, the match is live on Sky Sports Premier League, with streaming on NOW and Sky Go. US viewers can watch on USA Network or stream it through fuboTV, with Spanish-language coverage on Telemundo.

Possible Lineups

Sunderland — Form

Chelsea — Form

Head to Head

Where to Watch

Table

Premier League Standings