Paul Merson Offers His Prediction Ahead Of Chelsea’s Clash With Sunderland

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has made his prediction ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.

The Blues head to the Stadium of Light off the back on Monday night’s thrilling 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur that saw Chelsea come from 2-0 down at Stamford Bridge to salvage a point which handed the Premier League title to Leicester City.

Guus Hiddink’s men have little left to play for as they languish way down in mid-table with no chance of even qualifying for the Europa League so many of their players may start thinking ahead to this summer’s European Championships.

Sunderland on the other hand are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table and are in desperate need of points in order to secure their top flight status for another season, and it’s for this reason that Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson feels the Black Cats will take all three points tomorrow.

Writing in his column for Sky Sports, he said:

Sunderland v Chelsea – Saturday, 3pm

This is massive, and I’m predicting Sunderland to win this. I say that because Chelsea had their cup final on Monday, and now a lot of players will have their eyes on the Euros. If Sunderland can come out and start getting stuck in early on, make it a real cup tie if you like, a lot of the Chelsea players will have one eye on the summer.

Sunderland should have more fight about them, Chelsea put most of theirs into Monday, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a few players are rested. It’s so much more important for Sunderland.

PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1

We’ll have to wait and see whether Merson’s prediction proves accurate but a win for Sunderland would give them a major boost in their pursuit of safety and put the pressure firmly back on the shoulders of Newcastle and Norwich.