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Premier League 2016-2017: Sunderland vs Chelsea, Preview, Prediction & Predicted Lineup

| Dec 12, 2016 11:11 AM EST

Chelsea striker Diego Costa.

Cellar-dwelling club Sunderland AFC (3-10-2, 11 points) is set to square off with current league leaders Chelsea FC (12-2-1, 37 points) on Dec. 14, Wednesday at the Stadium of Light as the 2016-2017 Premier League season moves forward.

Start Time and Streaming Info

The game starts at 2:45 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.

Sunderland is back to their losing ways as the team lost their second game in the last three rounds with a 0-3 thrashing in the hands of erstwhile bottom-dwellers Swansea City on the road at the Liberty Stadium last Saturday, as per ESPN.

Head coach David Moyes' side was not able to respond with any goals to the hard-fighting Swans, who themselves had been reeling the past several rounds as well.

The match was scoreless in the first half until Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson broke the deadlock with a penalty kick six minutes after the restart.

Veteran striker Fernando Llorente sealed the game with a brace in the 54th and 80th minutes, handing the Black Cats their 10th loss in the English top flight this season.

With the defeat, Sunderland is back in the cellar of the 20-team league table, one point behind fellow bottom three squads Swansea City and Hull City.

Meanwhile, Chelsea extended its winning streak to nine games after a 1-0 nipping of middling club West Bromwich Albion in their home ground of Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Daily Mail Online reported.

It was a tough fight for the two teams as both sides' defenses were on full throttle in the whole match.

Spanish striker Diego Costa was finally able to score the winning goal in the 76th minute of the game with a tenacious play, stealing the ball from West Brom defender Gareth McAuley and sending it back towards goalkeeper Ben Foster.

The Blues are still on top of the Premier League standings at the moment, three points ahead of second-running squad Arsenal.

Prediction and Predicted Lineup

The predicted result is a 2-0 romp by Chelsea.

Sunderland starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Pickford; van Aanholt, Djilobodji, Jones, Koné; Pienaar, Denayer, Larsson, Ndong; Defoe, Anichebe

Chelsea starting lineup (3-4-3 formation): Courtois, Cahill, Luiz, Azpilicueta; Alonso, Matic, Kanté, Moses; Hazard, Pedro, Costa

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