An unbeaten but somewhat unimpressive Chelsea face a Sunderland side who have yet to win this season. The hosts shocked Chelsea last season with a 3-0 victory at Stamford Bridge but the visitors’ manager, André Villas-Boas, will take comfort from this team’s record of having won 12 of the last 13 meetings between these sides. New signings Nicklas Bentdner and Raul Meireles could make their debuts for their respective sides, but Sunderland are without another of their strikers, Asamoah Gyan, who is injured. Amitai Winehouse

Venue Stadium of Light Tickets £23-£30 (0871 911 1973) Last season Sunderland 2 Chelsea 4

Referee L Probert

This season’s matches 2 Y5, R0, 2.50 cards per game

Odds Sunderland 15-4 Chelsea 13-20 Draw 5-2

Sunderland

Subs from Westwood, Turner, Laing Elmohamady, Gardner, Wickham, Ji, Cook

Doubtful None

Injured Gordon (knee, Oct), O’Shea (calf, unknown), Gyan (hamstring, unknown), Meyler (knee, unknown) Campbell (knee, 2012)

Suspended None Form guide DLD

Disciplinary record Y8 R1

Leading scorer Larsson 1

Chelsea

Subs from Turnbull, Hilario, Bosingwa, Ferreira, Alex, Mikel, Bertrand, McEachran, Meireles, Malouda, Anelka, Kalou, Lukaku

Doubtful Cech (knee), Meireles (shoulder)

Injured Essies (knee, Jan), Drogba (head, 18 Sept)

Suspended None Form guide WWD

Disciplinary record Y6 R0

Leading scorer Anelka, Malouda, Bosingwa, Lampard, Mata 1

Match pointers

• Sunderland have lost seven of their last eight league games at the Stadium of Light

• Chelsea have won 12 of the last 13 top-flight meetings between these teams

• This is the visitors’ lowest-scoring start to a season since 2004, when José Mourinho took over at the club

• Fernando Torres has made more unsuccessful dribbles than any other player this season – 13

• Asamoah Gyan has had the more shots on-target (5) and off-target (7) than any other Sunderland player in this campaign

Premier League 2011-12SunderlandChelseaPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk

• ‘He wants to know everything,’ says Italian coach
• 50-year-old admits language difficulties

Carlo Ancelotti has revealed the extent of Roman Abramovich’s involvement in first-team affairs at Chelsea, telling the club’s official magazine that the owner “wants to know everything”.

“Roman is very interested, for sure, in his team,” he said. “We meet maybe once a month and when he doesn’t have to travel with his job he likes to stay in Cobham [where Chelsea have their training ground]. We discuss everything. He likes football, Chelsea, the players and he wants to know everything – about injuries, the balance of the team, tactics.”

Ancelotti also spoke warmly of his assistant manager, Ray Wilkins. Having spent three years playing for Milan in the 1980s and also worked at the club under another Italian manager, Gianluca Vialli, Wilkins provides essential translation services. “I have difficulty to understand sometimes but I have a very good assistant,” Ancelotti said. “He’s not only an assistant, he’s a friend and he speaks very good Italian. And so he helps me to understand. It’s not easy because when you speak to the team you have to not only speak, you have to show emotion as well.

“The first time I was angry with the players I tried to shout at them in English – it was impossible! Now the players know that when I speak in Italian, I am angry!”

The 50-year-old, whose side are top of the league and in the FA Cup final, promising a golden conclusion to his first season in English football, said that Italy could learn much from the English game.

“I saw a lot of Premier League games last year,” he said. “The surprise for me is the atmosphere around the stadium and inside the stadium. It is very good and different to Italy. In Italy it is hard to find a full stadium and it’s very easy to have violence in the stadium – this is not good. Here there are no police, no barriers, just a fantastic atmosphere.

“I think England had the same problem about 20 years ago with the hooligans and other problems, but you changed the rules and respected them. Italy tried to change the rules, but there is not the respect, so we have a big problem. I hope Italy can have the culture that I found here.”

Carlo AncelottiRoman AbramovichChelseaPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk