Chelsea come into the final weekend of the Premier League season still harboring some hopes of European football. Tuesday’s amusing win over Tottenham Hotspur, which not only raised spirits but kept Spurs still under threat of relegation, has us sitting in eighth currently, which would be good enough for another tour of obscure European towns via the Conference League.
But a win on Sunday, combined with Brighton & Hove Albion failing to beat Manchester United, would see us finish the season in seventh,
which would instead give us the Europa League — still not the Champions League but certainly better than other alternatives. There are other permutations at play as well, with upwards of another five teams in the mix potentially for these last two European spots, but as long as we win, we only have to worry about Brighton. And since all the games on the final day are played at the same time, we can only focus on ourselves anyway.
While there is an argument to be made that it would be more beneficial for our league campaign if Xabi Alonso didn’t have to deal with European football as well next season, by rule we should always strive for winning the most things. So let’s start by finishing the season with a win!
Date / Time: Sunday, May 24, 2026, 16.00 BST; 11am EDT; 8:30pm IST
Venue: Stadium of Light, Sunderland
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (on pitch); Matthew Donohue (VAR)
Forecast: Nice and sunny and warm
On TV: Sky Sports+ (UK); none (USA); none (India); SuperSport Blitz (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Sky Go (UK); Peacock (USA); JioHotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)
Sunderland team news: The Mackems only came up through the playoffs but have done better than either of the other two promoted teams (though only Burnley are going straight back down), and for a while early on, were even flirting with the top-four. A rough patch in the winter — winning just two of twelve at one point — saw them fall away from the top end, but they haven’t finished higher than tenth since 2001 and have not tasted European football since 1973. Both of those are very much on the table should they beat us.
A big reason for Sunderland’s success was their massive £200m summer spending spree, breaking the club transfer record multiple times as they practically signed a brand new team. Trying to integrate so many new players is never easy, but somehow it worked for them. The likes of Enzo Le Fée, captain Granit Xhaka, goalkeeper Robin Roefs, Nordi Mukiele, top scorer Brian Brobbey, and several others have all played key roles, especially in solidifying the team without the ball. They may be one of the lowest scoring sides in the league — only the bottom two have scored fewer — but only three teams have conceded fewer: the top two, and Brighton. They’ve been especially tough at home, losing just four times all season.
Manager Régis Le Bris does have a couple injuries to contend with, though nothing too significant. Chemsdine Talbi, Romaine Mundle, and Dan Ballard have been ruled out while Omar Alderete and former Chelsea winger Bertrand Traoré face late fitness test.
View from the enemy: Roker Report
Chelsea team news: Chelsea have a fairly clean bill of health as well, with only Estêvão, Jamie Gittens, and Roméo Lavia ruled out. João Pedro, Levi Colwill, and Reece James will be gametime decisions however, after not being fully involved against Spurs — in fact, JP missed out with a knock while Colwill was rested to manage his post-ACL injury workload.
That win against Spurs was just our second win in our last twelve Premier League matches — matching Sunderland’s aforementioned blip — and I’m sure we’re all ready to be done with this season and never mention it again. There’s hope of better days ahead with Xabi Alonso coming in as the new manager. At the same time, this may be the last time we see a few these players in a Chelsea shirt — Enzo Fernández, in particular, is being linked with moves away — so if nothing else, we can at least appreciate them one final time.
Previously: Sunderland got a stoppage time winner at the Bridge earlier this season. That was our first meeting in over eight years. Our last visit to the Stadium of Light ended in 1-0 win thanks to a goal from Cesc Fàbregas. We’d go on to win the league that season; still our most recent title.
