Peter Crouch has backed Chelsea to win 4-0 at Sunderland on Sunday, going one better than Steve Sidwell after the pair predicted the scoreline at the Stadium of Light.
Speaking on That Peter Crouch Podcast, former Chelsea midfielder Sidwell went first, and his reasoning had little to do with the form of both teams. He pointed to how Sunderland’s European duties on Thursday could affect them in this contest.
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“I’ll go first on this one, boys. This will be on a Sunday, because Sunderland are in Europe on Thursday, always after a European game on a Thursday, they can get done. I’m going Chelsea 3-0.”
Crouch went further by claiming the visitors will win big at the Stadium of Light. He predicted:
“I’ll go 4-0 then.”
Pressed to push it to 5-0, Crouch joked:
“I am my own person; it’s my head on the chopping block, and if I get fired, it’s my philosophy.”
Crouch explained how the Blues are exciting to watch and highlighted how Sunderland make too many sloppy errors, further backing his prediction.
“Poor result on the weekend. They were brilliant last season. Could they carry it on? Too many sloppy errors; Chelsea, for me, still like watching them play. They’re very exciting to watch.”
Sunderland host Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League tonight (Thursday), three days before the Blues arrive on Wearside. Régis Le Bris’ side are bottom of the Premier League with five points from nine games and a single win, and they lost 3-1 at Coventry City last weekend. Europe has been kinder, with seven points from their first three league-phase matches.
Chelsea, meanwhile, sit fourth on 16 points. Xabi Alonso’s men have beaten Bournemouth, Everton and Manchester United since the first international break, with a defeat to Tottenham Hotspur the only stumble in that run.
What happened when Sunderland and Chelsea met in 2025/26?
Both league meetings went Sunderland’s way last season. At Stamford Bridge on 25 October 2025, Alejandro Garnacho’s fourth-minute opener was cancelled out by Wilson Isidor, and Chemsdine Talbi finished a counter in the 93rd minute for a 2-1 win.
The final-day return on 24 May 2026 settled European qualification for the Black Cats. Trai Hume volleyed the hosts ahead in the 25th minute and Malo Gusto scored an own goal five minutes after the restart. Cole Palmer’s 56th-minute reply was all the visitors had.
Notably, Wesley Fofana collected a second booking in the 62nd minute, and the 2-1 defeat left the Blues 10th on 52 points and out of Europe. Sunderland, meanwhile, finished seventh with 54 points and qualified for Europe for the first time since 1974.
Edited by Nived Zenith
