Chelsea will look to make it five consecutive wins in all competitions as they welcome promoted Sunderland to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
Enzo Maresca appeared to be under a bit of pressure as he saw his side endure a disappointing September in which they won just one of their five matches, with that coming in a narrow 1-2 win at League One side Lincoln City in the League Cup.
However, the Italian relieved the pressure on himself by recording wins over Benfica and Liverpool just before the international break.
The Blues then returned from the international break by securing a 0-3 victory at Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, on an afternoon where both of my live selections landed, before thrashing Ajax 5-1 at home in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Sunderland’s fantastic start to the season continued last weekend, defeating Wolves 2-0, moving Regis Le Bri’s men up into seventh position in the Premier League table, level on points with their hosts.
However, The Black Cats have done most of their best work at the Stadium of Light, as they have picked up 10 of their 14 points at home, scoring just once in their four road trips.
How the bookies view it: Chelsea favourites
The bookies expect Chelsea to record their fifth consecutive win in all competitions on Saturday afternoon, with BOYLE Sports pricing a home success at just 4/11.
Sunderland are 7/1 underdogs with the same firm to leave West London with all three points, whilst the draw is 15/4.
Head to head: Blues with the upperhand
Chelsea have been victorious in four of the last five meetings with Sunderland, including each of their past three at Stamford Bridge.
Players to watch: Enzo to make his mark again?
Enzo Fernandez missed Chelsea’s victory over Nottingham Forest through injury last weekend, but returned in midweek for The Blues and scored from the spot.
The Argentinian international has also scored three times in the Premier League this season, and provided an assist – and given he has been on penalty duty in Cole Palmer’s absence – the 8/5 at Bet365 for him to Score or Assist on Saturday appeals to me here.
Predicted line-ups:
Chelsea still have a lengthy injury list, with Levi Colwill, Benoit Badiashile, Cole Palmer, Liam Delap and Dario Essugo all sidelined, whilst Malo Gusto is suspended following his red card at the City Ground last weekend.
Sunderland also have a few players missing through injury, with Omar Alderete, Habib Diarra, Leo Hjelde, Romaine Mundle, Dennis Cirkin and Aji Alese all out, but Reinaldo returns from suspension.
Chelsea: Sanchez, James, Chalobah, Tosin, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Neto, Pedro, Garnacho, Guiu
Sunderland: Roefs, Reinaldo, Mukiele, Ballard Hume, Xhaka, Sadiki, Talbi, Rigg, Le Fee, Isidor
Anything else catch the eye?
Chelsea appear to have gotten over their blip in September by winning each of their previous four matches in all competitions, and I expect them to squeeze past Sunderland on Saturday.
Whilst The Black Cats have been near faultless at home since their promotion to the Premier League, they have won just once on their travels, and that came at struggling Nottingham Forest.
Sunderland have already lost 2-0 at both Burnley and Manchester United on the road this campaign, so a Chelsea Win and Under 3.5 Goals appeals to me, which pays 11/10 at BOYLE Sports.
This has proven to be a winning selection in five of The Blues’ previous six victories in all competitions.
GambleAware