Chelsea and Sunderland are playing on the English Premier League schedule on Saturday and the late match on the day from Stamford Bridge will be streaming live from the NBC Sports website at 12:30 pm ET and has the Blues looking to win ahead of their EPL match against Liverpool and Jose Mourinho's side will have to do it without Eden Hazard, as he will be out for the game.
Chelsea is coming into a tough part of the schedule, as they have Liverpool next in the EPL and they also have an away matchup with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semifinals and with the first leg at Vicente Calderon, missing Hazard will hurt the team. Everyone else is fit for the matchup with the Black Cats and the team is hoping for a win to keep up with Liverpool over the weekend as they get set to try and overtake them at Anfield in the next match and that could end up deciding who wins the Premier League.
Hazard will be out for the match and that is a tough loss, but Mourinho said his team would be prepared and they would not underestimate Sunderland and playing well right now is a priority, as two of the biggest matches of the season are coming up. The team is still totally alive for the Premier League title and in a way they control their own destiny with the Anfield trip and they also can win the Champions League, as they were able to defeat PSG on a comeback and now they have the chance to beat Atletico Madrid to get to the Champions League finals. Last year Bayern Munich won and they are a favorite to get back to the game and that would be a great matchup for the Blues.
Sunderland comes into the matchup after a draw against Manchester City and that was an away matchup at the Etihad and striker Connor Wickham gave the team a late lead, but they ended up allowing another goal for Man City to get the draw and now they play against the Blues. The team is in relegation and they are six points back and now they have a very tough test with Chelsea and that could be very tough to win and that comes before a matchup with Cardiff City. The team finishes the season with an away match at Old Trafford against Manchester United and then the team hosts West Brom and Swansea City at the Stadium of Light to end the year.
Chelsea has been playing very well at home and they haven't lost there and this now is another chance for them to get a victory and it is crucial, as Liverpool plays on Sunday and they have a two point advantage on the league table and a loss here and win for the Reds could be devastating for the Blues, even if they somehow win at Anfield next weekend. The team has a big matchup with Atletico before the return trip at Stamford Bridge coming up and then after that the team finishes the season with a home matchup against Norwich and then an away game against Cardiff.
Check here for the Chelsea and Sunderland live coverage from NBC.
