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EPL Odds: Top Meets Bottom as Blues Face Sunderland

Don Aguero

by Don Aguero in News

Updated Jan 17, 2018 · 9:39 AM PST

Sunderland (+900) vs Chelsea (-257), Draw (+450)

The 16th fixture in the English Premier League sees the biggest mismatch possible as Chelsea (12-1-2, 37 points) travel to the Stadium of Light this Wednesday (December 14) to take on Sunderland (3-2-10, 11 points).

The two teams currently sit on opposite ends of the table — Chelsea in first and Sunderland in last – meaning both teams have a lot to play for. Chelsea need the full three to maintain their lead over second-place Arsenal.

A win, or more realistically a draw, against Chelsea could be all it takes to lift Sunderland from the bottom and begin the ascent to greener, non-relegation pastures. But they’ll have to overcome one of the strongest Premier League teams in recent memory. Chelsea made easy work of West Brom in the last round with a casual 1-0 win. The week before, they traveled to Etihad and dismantled then-frontrunners Manchester City, 3-1.

Chelsea are now three points clear of the Gunners and hold a cushy two-win buffer against third-place Liverpool. With no international cups to worry about, Chelsea are focusing all their attention on winning the Premier League.

Sunderland, on the other hand, are just fighting to stay in England’s top flight. Last place is never where you want to be, but things are actually looking up. The team is only one point below Hull City and Swansea, and only two points away from climbing free of relegation. After going winless in the first ten matches of the season, they have now won three of their last five. 

Jermain Defoe remains Sunderland’s star goalscorer, scoring eight of the team’s fourteen goals. Patrick Van Aanholt and Victor Anichebe are the only other goal scorers for Sunderland, with two and three goals, respectively.

The trio will have a hard time scoring against a Chelsea team that is not only riding a nine-game winning streak, but has also surrendered just 11 goals on the year. 

Sunderland’s rise has come at the expense of teams near the bottom of the table. They have not fared well against the top teams this season and, at this point in time, there is no Premier League team better than Chelsea.

Pick: Chelsea (-257)


Photo credit: “Willian” by Aleksandr Osipov, CC BY-SA 2.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0], via Flickr.

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