Chelsea visit Sunderland with European qualification at stake as the Premier League season ends with 4pm kick-offs. Chelsea can reach the Europa League if they improve on Brighton’s result, while finishing eighth likely still leads to the Europa League. A loss would rule them out, potentially affecting Sunderland’s position. Calum McFarlane plans to select his strongest XI at the Stadium of Light. Joao Pedro missed the previous league match against Tottenham due to a quick turnaround after starting the FA Cup final and returning from injury. He started at Wembley against Manchester City and played 86 minutes, then was left out versus Spurs as a precaution for a minor issue. McFarlane expects Pedro to be available for Sunderland, alongside Levi Colwill and Reece James, who also started the cup final but did not feature against Tottenham.
"Chelsea will finish the season hoping to stay in the European qualification places as they visit Sunderland on Sunday afternoon. The Premier League will draw to a close with a complete round of 4pm kick-offs, and Chelsea are one of just a handful of teams with meaningful places to play for. If they better Brighton's result, then the incoming Xabi Alonso will take them into the Europa League next season. If they stay eighth, they're probably looking at the Europa League. And if they lose, they will definitely miss out altogether - possibly at Sunderland's expense."
"That means Calum McFarlane will no doubt be keen to be able to field his best possible XI at the Stadium of Light - and Joao Pedro would figure into that. The Brazilian has had some injury problems recently, though, and missed Chelsea's last Premier League game against Tottenham. Joao Pedro played 86 minutes at Wembley (Image credit: Getty Images) However, McFarlane had indicated that Pedro was omitted from that game partly due to the quick turnaround from starting in the FA Cup final a few days earlier, having only just returned from injury a couple of weeks prior."
"The centre-forward started at Wembley and played 86 minutes of their defeat to Manchester City and was left out of the victory over Spurs largely as a precaution with a minor issue. The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. McFarlane said on Wednesday: "Joao Pedro had a slight knock. "It's nothing that we're massively concerned about but, again, with the quick turnaround from City, it just wasn't worth risking Joao Pedro in that moment.""
"Pedro is hoped to be back in contention to play a part against Sunderland alongside Levi Colwill and Reece James, who likewise started the cup final but didn't feature against Tottenham. The expectation is that the squad will be managed carefully after the FA Cup final and the short recovery period, with Pedro’s minor knock treated as a reason for precaution rather than a major setback."
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