Gus Poyet has, understandably, opted for the same side that came so close to an enormous victory at Manchester City on Wednesday evening. Santiago Vergini continues at right-back in place of the suspended Phil Bardsley, while Connor Wickham unsurprisingly retains his role up front after his two midweek strikes. Indeed, the only change for the Black Cats comes on the bench, where Ondrej Celustka takes the seat of Liam Agnew.
Sunderland (4-5-1): Vito Mannone; Santiago Vergini, John O'Shea, Wes Brown, Marcos Alonso; Adam Johnson, Fabio Borini, Lee Cattermole, Jack Colback, Seb Larsson; Connor Wickham
Subs: Oscar Ustari, Ondrej Celustka, El-Hadji Ba, Emanuele Giaccherini, Charis Mavrias, Ignacio Scocco, Jozy Altidore
Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho's Chelsea side takes a familiar form, with Samuel Eto'o once again chosen ahead of Fernando Torres and Demba Ba as a lone striker. Petr Cech misses out in goal, replaced by wise old head and former Middlesbrough man Mark Schwarzer. Willian, Oscar and Mohamed Salah comprise the attacking thrust of the Blues' midfield.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Mark Schwarzer; Branislav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill, John Terry, Cesar Azpilicueta; Ramires, Nemanja Matic; Willian, Oscar, Mohamed Salah; Samuel Eto'o.
Subs: Hilario, David Luiz, John Obi Mikel, Frank Lampard, Fernando Torres, Andre Schurrle, Demba Ba.