Chelsea v Sunderland preview: Blues to lift trophy after Sunday's clash

Chelsea will lift the Premier League trophy after taking on Sunderland, who will definitely be joining them in the top flight next season.

Jose Mourinho - who picked up the Premier League Manager of the Year award - will see his side lift the trophy after confirmed their first title in five years at the end of April, with Sunday's game live on Sky 1.

The Blues' 16-game unbeaten run came to an end with the 3-0 defeat at West Brom on Monday Night Football, but that will not fail to spoil the party mood at Stamford Bridge.

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Sunderland, meanwhile, will also be in high spirits as they sit four points clear of the relegation zone going into the final game, after their 0-0 draw with Arsenal in midweek guaranteed their survival.

Team news

Eden Hazard could miss his first Premier League match of the season after undergoing emergency dental surgery to remove his wisdom teeth.

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Midfielder Cesc Fabregas is suspended after his red at West Brom, while Mourinho says Diego Costa will start and youngsters Andreas Christensen and Jeremie Boga will feature, but Kurt Zouma (knee), Ramires (kidney) and Oscar (thigh) are all out.

Sebastian Larsson is a doubt for the visitors with a knee problem, while Lee Cattermole is a caution away from a suspension for next season so he may not be risked.

Dick Advocaat is still without Jordi Gomez (knee), Wes Brown (knee) and Liam Bridcutt (ankle) for Sunday's game, while the Black Cats coach could promote some of the club's youngsters to the bench.

Opta facts

If Chelsea fail to win they will be only the second champions in the last 12 seasons to end with fewer than 86 points (Man Utd 2010/11, 80).

Diego Costa needs one more goal to become the fourth player to score 20 Premier League goals in a single season for Chelsea (Drogba twice, Hasselbaink twice & Lampard)

Chelsea have not lost successive Premier League games under Jose Mourinho since May 2006 when they were also in the position of having won the league already.

Sunderland have won only one of their 13 final day games in Premier League history.

If John Terry plays the full game he’ll be only the second outfield player to play every minute of every game in a PL season and win the league (after Gary Pallister in 1992-93).

Chelsea have 70 goals this season. The average number of goals for the champions in the 20-team PL era (1996 onwards) is 81.

Merson's prediction

I think Chelsea will finish on a high after the West Brom game. Sunderland gave everything the other night but Chelsea will turn on the style this weekend. Chelsea will be without Cesc Fabregas after his red card but I don’t think he should be banned. Why didn’t they just use common sense? Everybody does it in training every week. You could be sitting around having a chat and someone fires a ball at you – Paul Scholes used to do it all the time!

PAUL PREDICTS: 4-0 (14/1 with Sky Bet)

Betting

Chelsea are the shortest-priced favourites of the weekend at just 1/3 for the victory, with Sunderland up against odds of 8/1. The Black Cats secured their survival on Monday Night Football but are expected to struggle again next season, with Sky Bet only offering the newly-promoted sides at shorter odds than their 9/4 for relegation. Diego Costa heads the first goalscorer betting at 3/1 while the market is wide open on the visitors’ side, with Steven Fletcher, Danny Graham, Connor Wickham and Jermain Defoe 10/1 apiece.

Watch Chelsea v Sunderland live from 2pm, Sunday, Sky 1 HD.