Chelsea will be looking to secure European football for next season when they travel to face Sunderland on Sunday at 4pm.
The Blues go into the final day of the 2025-26 Premier League in eighth, currently occupying the final European spot. But they are only above ninth-placed Brentford on goal difference.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Sunderland
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; James, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Santos; Neto, Palmer, Fernandez; Delap.
Calum McFarlane’s men ended a seven-game winless streak last time out, beating rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge. It was a happy moment for Chelsea fans to add to Tottenham’s misery, but it also brought the potential of European qualification..
Chelsea must beat Sunderland — and hope Brentford don’t better their result by four or more goals — to secure eighth. Seventh is also up for grabs, should Chelsea win and Brighton and Hove Albion drop points to Manchester United.
But Sunderland know they will leapfrog Chelsea with a win and potentially qualify for Europe should other results go their way. So this won’t be an easy match.
Chelsea team news vs Sunderland
Romeo Lavia missed the FA Cup final and midweek win over Tottenham having picked up another knock. The Belgian may be available this weekend, but McFarlane would be wise to keep his midfield pairing of Moises Caicedo and Andrey Santos.
Levi Colwill and Joao Pedro were both absent in midweek, but are likely to return to the starting XI. Colwill missed the midweek win due to load management, having only just returned from an ACL injury. Pedro had a knock, but will start if fit after Liam Delap underwhelmed.
Jamie Gittens and Estevao are also missing from the attack, with the latter also missing the World Cup due to injury. So Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Pedro Neto are likely to play behind Pedro.
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Reece James was an unused substitute in midweek but showed no signs of injury, so he may return to the starting XI. Josh Acheampong will drop down to the bench, while Malo Gusto brings another option should he recover from his knock.
Jorrel Hato is the centre-back likely to drop out for Colwill, who will partner Wesley Fofana. That appears to be McFarlane’s favoured centre-back duo, with Trevoh Chalobah having fallen out of favour.
Marc Cucurella should continue at left-back, despite his recent wing forays. Robert Sanchez is the first-choice goalkeeper and is expected to continue with his head guard after a recent injury.
Do Chelsea have enough to qualify for Europe?
Chelsea were in a very different position one year ago. They went into the final day of the 2024-25 season chasing Champions League football. It was essentially a play-off match between the Blues and Nottingham Forest, though Chelsea were in a better position. Levi Colwill scored the only goal of the game for Chelsea, securing the 1-0 win and a fourth-placed finish.
The stakes are a lot smaller this time around, but the necessity of a victory remains the same. Chelsea cannot afford to not be in Europe. And even then, the failure to qualify for the Champions League — which is confirmed — may still hurt them.
Chelsea will no doubt be buoyed by the midweek win over Tottenham, which came after FA Cup final heartbreak. And the Blues have ended seasons well in recent years. Chelsea are unbeaten on the final day in each of the past four seasons, winning three and drawing one.
The Blues also won their most-recent visit to the Stadium of Light, though that was in 2016. Chelsea did also lose to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge earlier this season and are looking to avoid the double for the first league since 2000-01.