Preview: Chelsea chase perfect 10 at struggling Sunderland
By Alan Baldwin
LONDON (Reuters) - Sunderland manager David Moyes said after Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Swansea that he knows his side's limitations and they are likely to be just as apparent when Premier League leaders Chelsea visit on Wednesday.
The evening match at the Stadium of Light pits the basement side against title-chasing opponents seeking their 10th successive win.
Sunderland, who have lost 10 of their 15 matches, plunged back to the bottom after the Liberty Stadium trouncing and must now try and take something from opponents who have conceded only two goals in their last nine league games.
"We know our limitations, know what we’ve got and we know it’s going to be a tough job to see it through. We’ve known that and not kidded anyone otherwise," said Moyes after Saturday's defeat ended a run of three wins in four games.
"We had a good run there, but we’ll have to do that three or four times this season if we are to make sure we keep ourselves in this league.
"We’re back on the bottom...but we aren’t back at square one," he added. "So we will brush ourselves down, and get on with what’s next, which is a busy week."
Second-placed Arsenal, three points behind Chelsea after Saturday's 3-1 win over Stoke City, can go top at least temporarily on Tuesday if they take three points from their trip to Everton.
The Gunners are unbeaten in the league since their opening weekend 4-3 defeat to Everton's city rivals Liverpool but manager Arsene Wenger is taking nothing for granted against a side with only one win in 11 matches.
"At the moment, every game is like a cup final for everybody and we just came out of a game where we were 1-0 down," he told reporters on Monday.
"For the sixth time this season, we came back after being down so let's continue to focus on that, on our resilience and our motivation and we will see how far we can go."
Third-placed Liverpool, who have scored more goals than anyone in the top flight, are at Middlesbrough on Wednesday.
Manchester City, thrashed 4-2 by champions Leicester City and still without the suspended Sergio Aguero, host Watford in a match Pep Guardiola's fourth-placed side need to win after two successive defeats.
Leicester travel to Bournemouth on Tuesday while Tottenham Hotspur are at home to Hull City on Wednesday and West Ham United host Burnley.
Manchester United, who beat Spurs 1-0 on Sunday, are at Crystal Palace. Henrikh Mkhitaryan misses out with an ankle injury after scoring his first Premier League goal against Tottenham but there are plenty of alternatives for manager Jose Mourinho.
"(Wayne) Rooney, (Marcus) Rashford, (Jesse) Lingard, Ashley Young, Memphis Depay - that’s the position where we have lots of players," the Portuguese said.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)