As the Premier League season draws to a close, Chelsea faces a pivotal final match, having seen their aspirations for Champions League qualification crumble in recent weeks. Following their elimination from the Champions League round of 16 by PSG, the London club has endured a seven-game winless streak in the Premier League, suffering six defeats, alongside a FA Cup final loss to Manchester City. Currently sitting 8th, the Blues would secure a spot in the Europa Conference League playoffs with this position, but still eye 7th place, which brings Europa League qualification.
Newly promoted this season, Sunderland has made a remarkable return to England’s top flight after several years in lower divisions. Fueled by an ambitious transfer window, Régis Le Bris‘s squad enjoyed an excellent first half of the season before their form dipped in recent months. Despite this, currently 10th, the Black Cats can still dream of European football if they clinch a victory on this final matchday.
Sunderland – Chelsea: key match details
Date: Sunday, May 24, 2026
Kick-off Time: 5:00 PM (GMT)
Venue: Stadium of Light, Sunderland
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
VAR: Yes
TV Channel: CANAL+ Live 6
Live Streaming: CANAL+ digital platform
Odds (Betclic): Sunderland Win @ 3.53 | Draw @ 3.60 | Chelsea Win @ 1.97
Sunderland: team news and form
Eight years after their relegation to the Championship, Sunderland is on the cusp of an extraordinary achievement. In 2018, the Black Cats plunged into League One after two consecutive relegations, enduring one of the darkest periods in their history, famously chronicled in the series Sunderland ’Til I Die. Amidst sporting instability, managerial changes, and repeated failures, the club seemed light-years away from a return to prominence.
However, since the gradual takeover by Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Juan Sartori, Sunderland has embarked on an ambitious rebuilding project. They secured promotion back to the Championship in 2022 and then returned to the Premier League in May 2025 after a playoff final victory against Sheffield United. The club then made a significant statement with an ambitious summer transfer window in 2025, investing over 100 million euros. The arrivals of Granit Xhaka, Enzo Le Fée, Brian Brobbey, and Nordi Mukiele have undeniably transformed the team’s status.
Under the guidance of Régis Le Bris, who joined in the summer of 2024 after his tenure at Lorient, Sunderland quickly impressed with their intensity and ability to compete with more established top-flight teams. For several months, the Black Cats maintained a position in the top half of the table, even setting their sights on Europe. In a league where promoted clubs statistically face relegation more often than survival, their season is already remarkable. Currently 10th ahead of this final matchday, Sunderland can still hope to achieve their best league finish since the 2010-2011 season, which also concluded in that position.
Despite a highly convincing first half of the season, Régis Le Bris‘s men experienced a dip in form during the spring, with several disappointing performances. Nevertheless, their crucial 3-1 victory last week on Everton‘s home turf keeps their European hopes alive for this ultimate fixture. Sunderland now trails 8th place by just one point and 7th position, which could lead to Europa League qualification, by two points.
A continental qualification would be a historic achievement at the Stadium of Light. Sunderland has only participated in one European campaign throughout its history, during the 1973-1974 Cup Winners’ Cup, following their FA Cup triumph over Leeds United.
Regarding the squad, Simon Moore remains sidelined with injury, while Daniel Ballard continues to serve his suspension. Romaine Mundle and Bertrand Traoré are listed as uncertain. Goal-scorers against Everton, Enzo Le Fée and Brian Brobbey are expected to start, as is Granit Xhaka, who has been a true midfield leader this season.
Sunderland: probable lineup
Robin Roefs – Lutsharel Geertruida, Nordi Mukiele, Luke O’Nien, Reinildo Mandava – Granit Xhaka, Noah Sadiki – Trai Hume, Enzo Le Fée, Nilson Angulo – Brian Brobbey
Coach: Régis Le Bris
Chelsea: team news and form
Chelsea approaches this final matchday with a profound sense of squandered opportunity. For many months, the Blues appeared poised to reclaim their rightful place among England’s footballing elite. Having won the Europa Conference League and then the Club World Cup in 2025, the London club believed it had initiated a new positive cycle. The previous season under Enzo Maresca had indeed hinted at a revival, with a more cohesive team and the impression that Chelsea was finally emerging from years of turbulence. However, as has often been the case since the BlueCo takeover in 2022, the club eventually succumbed to its familiar inconsistencies.
For the past four years, Chelsea has been plagued by almost constant instability. Managers have come and gone, colossal transfer windows have followed one another, and projects have continually shifted. Despite hundreds of millions of euros invested, the Londoners still struggle to build a truly stable team capable of consistently challenging for the title. The vision championed by BlueCo, based on accumulating highly-priced young talents, continues to project an image of a team that shines in flashes but rarely achieves sustained regularity.
This 2025-2026 season perfectly encapsulated these limitations. After being in contention for the Champions League for an extended period, Chelsea completely collapsed in the spring. Eliminated by PSG in the Champions League round of 16, the Blues then endured a dismal run of seven Premier League matches without a win, including six defeats. The departure of Enzo Maresca in January, followed by the swift dismissal of Liam Rosenior after five consecutive losses, further intensified the perpetual climate of urgency surrounding the club. Chelsea has already decided to restart from scratch once again with the impending arrival of Xabi Alonso at the helm.
Before this trip to the Stadium of Light, Chelsea occupies only 8th place in the Premier League. This position is far removed from the initial ambitions of a squad assembled with hundreds of millions of euros. While 8th place would currently send the Blues into the Europa Conference League playoffs, their lead remains very fragile, and Chelsea could entirely miss out on European competition if they falter against Sunderland. The Londoners can still snatch 7th place, potentially qualifying for the Europa League, but they now have virtually no room for error.
In recent weeks, Chelsea has, however, shown some signs of resilience. After a heavy 3-1 defeat against Nottingham Forest in Calum McFarlane‘s debut, the Londoners secured a 1-1 draw at Liverpool before beating Tottenham 2-1. But the 1-0 defeat in the FA Cup final against Manchester City solidified the prevailing sentiment around Stamford Bridge: another season falling far short of expectations.
Regarding the squad, Estêvão Willian and Jamie Gittens are injured, while Mykhaïlo Mudryk remains suspended. Malo Gusto, Roméo Lavia, and João Pedro are listed as uncertain. Enzo Fernández, a goal-scorer on the last matchday, is expected to start in midfield alongside Pedro Neto and Cole Palmer. Notably, Palmer was not selected by Thomas Tuchel for England‘s 2026 World Cup squad, nor was João Pedro for Brazil despite a statistically strong season.
Chelsea: probable lineup
Robert Sánchez – Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella – Moisés Caicedo, Andrey Santos – Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernández – João Pedro
Coach: Calum McFarlane
Where to watch Sunderland – Chelsea on TV and streaming?
In France, the clash between Sunderland and Chelsea will be broadcast on CANAL+ Live 6 this Sunday, May 24, starting at 5:00 PM. The match will also be available for live streaming on the CANAL+ digital platform.
Historical confrontations between Sunderland and Chelsea
Across 126 confrontations in all competitions, Chelsea holds a significant historical advantage with 61 victories compared to 43 for Sunderland, alongside 22 draws. This superiority became particularly pronounced from the 2000s onwards, intensifying further after Roman Abramovitch‘s takeover of the London club in 2003. While Chelsea ascended to become one of European football’s major powers, Sunderland, conversely, endured a prolonged period of decline marked by relegations, sporting crises, and several seasons spent outside the top flight.
Before their 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge last October, Chelsea had won 10 of the previous 14 encounters against the Black Cats. However, it’s challenging to draw a true current trend from this, as these matches all took place between 2011 and 2017, a time when the two clubs simply operated in vastly different sporting realities. Thus, Sunderland‘s victory in London this season carried significant symbolic weight, seemingly confirming the Black Cats‘ return among teams capable of challenging England’s major clubs.
Players who have represented both clubs
Over thirty players have worn the colors of both Sunderland and Chelsea throughout history. For a long time, however, the trajectories of the two clubs were completely opposite. Chelsea attracted international stars and regularly competed for titles in England and Europe, while Sunderland oscillated between difficult survival bids, the Championship, and sometimes even League One. Consequently, many players experienced the Blues at their peak before joining the Black Cats in a vastly different context.
Among current profiles, Bertrand Traoré remains the most evident link between the two clubs. Arriving very young at Chelsea after his training at Auxerre, the Burkinabé winger was considered one of the London club’s great prospects in the mid-2010s. Despite some flashes of brilliance and several interesting loan spells, he never permanently established himself before continuing his career at Ajax, Lyon, Aston Villa, and Villarreal. Recruited by Sunderland this season to bring experience to Régis Le Bris‘s squad, he ultimately played sparingly due to injuries and significant offensive competition.
Young Marc Guiu also shares this common history. A great hope of Spanish football trained at La Masia, the striker joined Chelsea before being loaned to Sunderland at the beginning of the season to gain Premier League playing time. His stint at the Stadium of Light proved very brief, as the Blues quickly recalled him after several offensive injuries within their squad.
Marcos Alonso is probably the most striking example of success at both clubs. When he joined Sunderland on loan in 2014, the Spaniard was primarily looking to revive a career that was stagnating at Fiorentina. His time with the Black Cats allowed him to truly discover the Premier League and regain confidence. Two years later, Chelsea took a chance on him, and Alonso became one of the symbols of Antonio Conte‘s system, notably winning the Premier League before also being part of the squad that triumphed in the Champions League under Thomas Tuchel in 2021.
The Dutchman Boudewijn Zenden is another well-known name to have played for both clubs. A former major prospect in Dutch football, emerging from PSV and then Barça, he joined Chelsea in the early 2000s when the team was still far from the financial powerhouse it would later become. Hampered by injuries, he never fully settled there before gaining varied experience across the Premier League. At Sunderland, towards the end of his career, his role was primarily that of a veteran tasked with providing experience to a squad constantly under pressure in the fight for survival.
Finally, it’s impossible not to mention Tore André Flo. The Norwegian striker remains one of the notable goal-scorers for Chelsea in the late 1990s, even before Abramovitch‘s arrival. Highly regarded by London supporters, he particularly shone during the Blues‘ European campaigns thanks to his aerial prowess and goal-scoring instinct. His arrival at Sunderland in the early 2000s generated considerable anticipation, but his time with the Black Cats proved far more challenging in a team then in the midst of a sporting crisis and ultimately relegated.
Sunderland – Chelsea: match odds
Sunderland Win @ 3.53 (Betclic)
Draw @ 3.60 (Betclic)
Chelsea Win @ 1.97 (Betclic)
