Sunday 8th October 2026
Sunderland v Chelsea – Premier League
Stadium of Light – Kick-Off: 14:00
Match Coverage
TV/Stream: Full live match coverage is available via Sky Sports.
Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online)
Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the game on the Roker Report Twitter feed (@RokerReport) and check out the player ratings after the full-time whistle at www.RokerReport.sbnation.com!
The build-up…
It’s just over five months since that incredible day, that on paper looks like a second 2-1 victory in a row over Chelsea, but it was a whole lot more. A muted
celebration greeted the final whistle before pure pandemonium arrived on the confirmation that we’d qualified for the Europa League.
A day never to be forgotten, but here we are with arguably a more important job on our hands today than the one we had that day back in May. We need points, and we need them quickly.
Our run of fixtures leading up to our trip to Milan looks tough on paper, and it’s easy to assume that the games on home soil are where we are likely to pick up the majority of points over that period. Just as we began last season, we have to see any fixture at the Stadium of Light as an opportunity to put points on the board, but as it stands we’ve taken 4 from a possible 12.
To provide some confidence, Chelsea are a side that we completed the double over last season – collecting a point more in those two games than we have in the nine so far. But we’ve also won three of the last five against them, and if we beat them today, it will be the first time since a run between 1999-2001 that we have beaten them in three consecutive games.
We’ve said it for a good few weeks now, but we need to start our season. It will be interesting after midweek whether or not Le Bris freshens things up or goes again with a similar line-up to what took to the field in the previous two league games, as he made one change between Leeds and Coventry.
We’ve only taken the lead once in the league this season (Fulham), and we’ve only scored in the first half of two games (Ipswich & Man City), so let’s hope we draw a line in the sand this afternoon.
Even by their standards, last year was chaotic for Chelsea. Two-and-a-half-managers and finishing 10th in the Premier League after a season that began with them lifting the Club World Cup – well, Donald Trump lifted it from memory.
Enzo Maresca left after seemingly forcing a move that would see him replace Pep at Citeh, and then we had the Rosenior experiment, which didn’t go well at all. Now they’re back with a big-name manager in Xavi Alonso, and stability seems to be the order of the day.
When I say stability, that does follow a summer where roughly £300m was spent, and a similar amount was recouped in transfers. After a few windows focusing on potential, they did bring in some experience with Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck joining the ranks after a nibble at Xhaka – but two players who’d loved to be involved this afternoon.
Five wins out of nine so far have them in a Champions League spot, which is likely to be the target this season. Poor home results against Hull and Spurs could have seen them even higher. Away from home, they have won two and lost two, but with the sides in their current positions, you’d expect they would be disappointed to come away with anything less than all three points this afternoon.
The betting…
The bookies have the Lads at 5/2 to win the game, while Chelsea are evens for the victory, and the draw is 5/2.
Head-to-head… at Sunderland
(All competitive competitions)
- Sunderland wins: 33
- Draws: 10
- Chelsea wins: 21
- Sunderland goals: 120
- Chelsea goals: 84
Last time we met… at Sunderland
Sunday 24th May 2026
Premier League
Sunderland 2-1 Chelsea
[Hume 25’, Gusto (OG) 50’ – Palmer 56’ (Fofana sent-off 62’)]
Sunderland: Roefs, Geertruida, Mandava, Xhaka, Mukiele, O’Nien, Hume, Sadiki, Brobbey (Isidor), Le Fee (Rigg), Angulo (Diarra) Substitutes not used: Ellborg, Cirkin, Alderete, Ta Bi, Traore, Mayenda
Chelsea: Sanchez, Gusto (Acheampong), Cucurella, Fofana, Colwill, Hato (James), Neto (Chalobah), Fernandez, Joao Pedro, Palmer, Caicedo (Delap). Substitutes not used: Jorgensen, Adarabioyo, Essugo, Andrey Santos, Garnacho, Derry
Attendance: 47,155
Prediction…
Sunderland 1-1 Chelsea
I’ve got a feeling the Lads will give us a performance that provides a bit of hope to help us through the international break. But, it might not be enough to beat a Chelsea side who have a bit of ambition this year and it might give the owner a tougher decision on whether or not to make a change.
