Any kind of win on Saturday will return Chelsea to the top of the pile, overnight at least. The Blues have enjoyed this fixture in recent years, averaging more than three goals a game in our 12 Premier League meetings at Stamford Bridge. But this time the morale of visitors Sunderland, desperate to evade the drop, is hard to predict. Their draw at Manchester City on Wednesday was thoroughly deserved and ended a run of five successive defeats, yet the crucial full three points were surrendered late-on by a self-inflicted wound.

Without a win since 1 February (though that was against neighbours Newcastle) the Black Cats have lost seven of the last eight league games and drawn the other. They have still only scored six times since hitting three against the Geordies and manager Gus Poyet has muttered darkly about deep-lying issues at the heart of the club.

He took them to a Capital One Cup final, defeating José Mourinho's Blues en route, but gallant failure against Manchester City at Wembley has provided no succour from the weekly reality of league shortcomings.

Former Blues icon Poyet, one of whose most memorable goals was a spectacular volley in this same match-up in 1999, had a fine reputation as a manager before arriving but had never managed at this level before.

A more experienced but less honest boss might not have sounded such a desolate tone after defeat last weekend but it is because he cares passionately, a trait he often displayed as a player at Stamford Bridge.

Even his ill-judged kissing of the Spurs badge during a win against Chelsea was solely directed at the man he felt had squeezed him out at the Bridge, however poorly it went down among Blues fans.

It is part of football lore that injured players return quicker to a successful team than a struggling one and Poyet declared only 17 first team players were fit enough to face City.

Incredibly his side put in one of their best performances of the season and, but for a moment of tin-hand paddling from goalkeeper Vito Mannone, would have become only the second team to win at City after Chelsea.

Despite being written off in the media the Citizens are still in the title race, though their manager suggesting the club was shattered by the recent loss at Liverpool does put their readiness for battle into question.

Easter football, meanwhile, is not the packed schedule it once was. Back in 1999 Keith Sinclair, vicar of Aston parish, ordered his church bells to ring out during Chelsea's Sunday morning visit to nearby Villa Park. It was 'symbolic mourning' of football's encroachment into Easter Sunday services on the holiest day in the Christian calendar.

Yet since medieval times the moveable feast of Easter had been the traditional time for mob football matches such as Workington's 'Uppies and Downies'. In the professional era an intense fixture list was organised to entertain crowds enjoying a rare long weekend off work. Falling so close to the decision-making end of the season as it usually does, the Easter schedule earned a make-or-break reputation.

During Chelsea's debut season, 1905/06, a remarkable league crowd record of 67,000 enjoyed the Good Friday sunshine and saw the Pensioners draw with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

Crucially the Red Devils remained above the Londoners in the promotion race and, after Jackie Robertson's men drew the following day at Grimsby and at home to Glossop three days later, Easter football had sealed Chelsea's fate.

This is still sometimes the case in the Football League: Championship sides, for instance, will play on Good Friday or Saturday and again on Easter Monday. With greater pressure from other competitions and concerns about recovery time, it is more rare for Premier League sides to undergo such a rigorous examinations.

Chelsea played twice over the last Easter holiday only because the FA Cup replay with Man United was scheduled for Monday 1 April. And if you like omens, Chelsea's hero last weekend at Swansea, Demba Ba, was also the only goalscorer in that win against the Mancunians.

At Easter 56 years ago, on 19 April 1957, Chelsea became the first club to fly domestically from a football match. The jet-set Pensioners had to be back from a match at Newcastle in time for Everton's visit to the capital the next day.

Sunderland will aim to become the first visitors in 10 to breach the Chelsea defence at Stamford Bridge. However, all five of the Blues' league defeats this season have come in games immediately prior to Champions League midweeks.

Chelsea are the last English side still competing in Europe and have been allowed the least preparation time of the four remaining sides. This game was brought forward to Saturday at 5.30pm by the Premier League from its previous TV slot of Sunday 4pm and is one of the fairest available given that Sunderland played on Wednesday.

However, our Champions League opponents Atletico play Elche at home this weekend, the match being brought forward to Friday by La Liga to maximise their preparations for the first leg of Tuesday's semi-final.

The other Madrid side in the last four, Real, were also in action on Wednesday, beating Barcelona to lift the King's Cup. As a result Spanish football authorities have postponed their Primera match this weekend to give them a clear run to Wednesday's UEFA clash. Their opponents, Bayern, play on Saturday afternoon.


- Match preview by chelseafc.com