English Premier
2026-05-24 - Sunderland vs Chelsea
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 24th May 2026 - Kick Off 4pm
This game is live on TV
Sunderland
The come from behind win at Hill Dickinson Stadium not only keeps Sunderland above rivals Newcastle United in the Premier League table, but means they go into the final fixture of the campaign still battling for European Football. There is little doubt in the mind of the writer that Sunderland have been the biggest overachievers in the English top flight this season, even if you have to tip your hat to the likes of Bournemouth and Brentford as well.
It should be remembered that Sunderland were odds on favourites to be relegated at the end of this season having been promoted in the Play Off Final twelve months ago, but Regis Le Bris has guided the team into 10th place. A top half finish can be guaranteed with a victory and three more points at the Stadium of Light may push Sunderland into the top eight. The Black Cats have a 8-6-4 record here having scored 23 goals and conceded 19.
Sunderland had not won any of 4 Premier League games before coming back from 1-0 down to beat Everton 1-3 on Merseyside last Sunday, while that result also means they are unbeaten in 3 League fixtures. The side have only won 1 of the last 6 Premier League games at home and Sunderland have been beaten 4 times in that run.
Dan Ballard is suspended, while Omar Alderete, Romaine Mundle and Bertrand Traore are doubts.
Chelsea
The FA Cup Final defeat was swiftly followed by news that Xabi Alonso will be coming in as manager of Chelsea and the 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday has given them a chance to earn another crack at European Football. That won't be in the Champions League, but Chelsea fans may still be hoping they can push into the Europa League places with a victory to round out this difficult campaign.
The three points earned during the week has allowed Chelsea to take advantage of dropped points for Brighton and Brentford and The Blues are 8th in the Premier League table. However, a defeat will mean they are guaranteed to miss out on UEFA competition next season, while a draw would leave them vulnerable to being overtaken by Brentford, who visit Anfield at the same time. The Blues have a 7-5-6 away record and can move past Brighton with a victory and the latter failing to beat Manchester United.
Chelsea's win over Tottenham Hotspur is just the third in the last 14 games played in all competitions, while they have suffered 9 defeats in that run. The away run has been really difficult and Chelsea ended a 3 game losing run on their travels in all competition when forcing a 1-1 draw at Anfield earlier in the month.
Players are not going to be risked at this stage of the season, but the likes of Reece James will be hoping for more minutes. Joao Pedro is a doubt, but Levi Colwill should be fit enough to travel.
Head to Head
Sunderland conceded inside five minutes at Stamford Bridge earlier this season, but still recovered to win 1-2 in West London.
They will be hosting Chelsea for the first time since December 2016 when Sunderland were beaten 0-1.
Prediction
Twelve months ago, Chelsea were playing out the season with a tough away game where they needed to pick up a victory to secure European Football.
They need to do the same in May 2026, but this time it is not Champions League Football on the line, but the hope of perhaps pushing into the Europa League. If the season ended today, Chelsea would be back in the Conference League that was won two years ago, but Xabi Alonso may have a lot more time to work with his squad when taking over if Chelsea fail to win at the Stadium of Light.
That would leave Chelsea vulnerable to Brentford, but a Sunderland win on Sunday would guarantee the visitors miss out on a top eight finish.
Instead it would perhaps be Sunderland who earn that opportunity in the Conference League and fans will feel Regis Le Bris' team could have a real shot at winning that European trophy.
The challenge would be balancing European and domestic commitments, but Sunderland have shown this season they can surpass all expectations and the development of the club could be sped up by earning the financial rewards of the extra games.
No one will be thinking too far ahead and instead the focus will be to finish the season as well as they can having overachieved to be sitting in the top half of the Premier League standings.
Finishing above Newcastle United would offer Sunderland huge bragging rights and that is another ambition they will be looking to fulfil this weekend.
Chelsea won on Tuesday, but they were not very convincing against Tottenham Hotspur and so it is a surprise to see them at such a short price. Again, the layers may be doing so anticipating money to come in for a team that 'needs' the win, but Sunderland have shown toughness and resilience all season at the Stadium of Light.
4 losses in the last 6 Premier League games may say otherwise, but Sunderland did hold Manchester United last time out and Chelsea have not been very convincing in recent League outings.
A draw may still be enough for Chelsea to secure a top eight finish, and that may be the best they can achieve with Sunderland deserving more respect than has been given to them in the prices to round out the Premier League schedule.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Sunderland 1-1 Chelsea
