- Chelsea boast a 12W-2D-1L record in past 15 versus West Ham
- West Ham is 1W-1D-5L in last seven road PL matches
- Hammers outscored 19-4 across January competitions in 2014
It’s not even February in the crowded bottom half of the Premier League table, but there’s no question Wednesday’s relegation scrap between Stoke City and Sunderland could send the fortunes of each club in either direction (Watch at 2:45pm ET on on NBC Sports Live Extra).
While a win pulls Sunderland out of the relegation zone and moves them to within a point of the Potters, Stoke needs all three points considering their upcoming fixtures.
The 21 points Stoke had a few weeks ago was able to keep Potter pulses in check, but having 22 after this one would send heart rates soaring with Manchester United, Southampton, Manchester City and Arsenal opponents in four of their next five matches.
Newly-minuted League Cup finalists Sunderland have been on their way up since Gus Poyet took over for embattled boss Paolo di Canio, but they haven’t found their consistency in Premier League play.
Still, the Black Cats’ nine points through their last six matches make for Top Eight form. Their draw at Southampton and win at Everton are nice and all, but draws against fellow scrappers Norwich and Cardiff show safety isn’t built in a day, and a home loss to Aston Villa shows how much work’s left for Poyet.
Then, there’s Stoke City’s one point in five matches. To be fair to the Potters, it’s been a brutal stretch that included a double red card affair with Newcastle in addition to matches with Spurs, Everton and Liverpool. They drew the Toffees, but is the loss to Crystal Palace in their most recent match a symptom of the sick or just another slip up?
The Potters should have Peter Odemwingie available after their swap with Cardiff City for Kenwyne Jones.
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What They’re Saying
Potters boss Mark Hughes on Sunderland: “I saw them against United in the semi and thought they were excellent on the night and fully deserved to go through in my opinion, irrespective of the fact that it needed a penalty shoot-out. They have a lot of confidence behind them at the moment but we’re going there looking to be positive. We want to get back on track in terms of accumulating points on the road; we need to do that sooner rather than later.”
Sunderland’s Fabio Borini on stifling League Cup final thoughts: “We can’t just think about one game. We have four or five games in between which are more important now to stay in the Barclays Premier League. It’s one of the most important weeks of the season. We have got two games that are achievable to get three points. If we could get away with four or six points then it would be a very good week and hopefully we can look forward to the last part of the season.”
Prediction
Stoke’s goal differential (-14) is just one better than Sunderland, so there’s plenty at stake at the Britannia Stadium. It’s improbable you could understate how much this much this match means for both teams, but it seems the lion’s share of the pressure would be on the home side. Expect a heart-pounder with goals to show as the teams draw 2-2.
