After a defeat,
most players will tell you that having another game just around the
corner, and a home one at that, presents a welcome and swift opportunity
to right any wrongs. Saturday's performance at Swansea, particularly
the second half, saw Sunderland revert to their early season form, the
loss not as poor as the defeats at home to Everton or at Stoke, but a
huge concern given the opposition we were facing. The trip to The
Liberty Stadium presented a fantastic chance for Sunderland to get one
over on a relegation rival and climb out of the bottom three; something
that would have been a massive shot in the arm and seen a huge
psychological barrier broken. Sunderland wouldn't be Sunderland if
things weren't done the hard way, and after a crushing 3-0 defeat, our
mini revival has suddenly hit the buffers.
With Didier N'dong
suspended after picking up his fifth caution of the season, David Moyes
must restore Jan Kirchhoff to the starting XI at home to Chelsea.
Chances will be at a premium against the rampant Londoners, and
Sunderland will need to make the most when in possession of the ball.
Kirchhoff gives the side that in abundance. Yes, he will be rusty, but
his introduction at Swansea told us that he was already in David Moyes'
thinking for this Chelsea game. The big German gives the side an anchor,
his ball retention is usually very good and he's an important attacking
cog that enables the side to get up the pitch. If he's on his game, his
influence will be massive. That is likely to be the only enforced
change to the team. Whether Seb Larsson can start two games in quick
succession will be an interesting choice to make for Moyes, as will
bringing Fabio Borini back into the fold, or using him from the bench
after three months out with injury.
This will be a
very tough game, make no mistake about that. With Chelsea sitting at the
top of the league and chasing a tenth straight win, Sunderland know
what they're up against. Anything we can collect from this game will be a
welcome bonus. The Stadium of Light was electric in this fixture last
season as we triumphed 3-2 in our annual survival scrap, but this team
is a different animal under Antonio Conte. Therefore I somewhat sadly,
cannot let my heart rule my head with this one. We have games later this
month against Watford and Burnley that represent better chances to
improve our points total. Anything taken off the big boys is always a
huge bonus, especially when they're in this kind of form!
Verdict: Away win
