After that scare, Chelsea have Sunderland pegged back once again as they try to find another opening. Willian powers into the Sunderland box before letting fly and his shot deflects off Papy Djilobodji's knee and onto the crossbar.

Great chance for Sunderland! 

They try to catch Chelsea half asleep as Jermain Defoe surges forward. He waits for the overlap from Adnan Januzaj before putting him into space just inside the box. Januzaj shoots first time but Thibaut Courtois gets down to save.

Back under way at the Stadum of Light. No changes made by either manager.

The top of the table is looking mighty fine for Chelsea so far. They are six points clear of Arsenal and Liverpool. You'd have to fancy Chelsea to see this game out but who knows, maybe David Moyes has something up his sleeve?

Image source, PA

Oxford Boy:@cesc4official, external is undoubtedly one of the most important players for @ChelseaFC, external What a player! should never sell him  

... Willian takes the free-kick, just over.

And there's the half-time whistle.

Sunderland falling apart a bit here now as John O'Shea follows Jermain Defoe into the book as he sends Diego Costa tumbling right on the edge of the area.

A real chance for Chelsea here...

Cesc Fabregas loves a goal against Sunderland. That was his fifth against them, more than he has scored against any other side.

The fourth official's board goes up and there will be one minute of time added on.

It will be interesting to see what Sunderland do now. They had set up much like Everton against Arsenal last night - largely to stop their opponent playing, but now they are behind they will have to change that. Could they too stage a fightback?

Jermain Defoe gets the game's first booking as he slides in on Cesc Fabregas.

Another opportunity for Chelsea as they win a free-kick midway inside the Sunderland half. David Luiz takes it and his strike deflects slight off the top of someone's head in the wall but Jordan Pickford has it covered.

Chelsea appear to unlock a resilient Sunderland defence as the ball is poked through by Diego Costa for Pedro. The forward bends a shot towards the far corner but Jordan Pickford makes an excellent save. Pedro was offside anyway, but that will be a pleasing sight for Sunderland fans.

Chelsea ping a couple of balls into the box but they are easy enough for Sunderland to cope with. 

The curse of the commentator could strike here, but it could be a while before we see any goals in this game.

What a goal this would have been!

Marcos Alonso again gets away down the left before sending a cross into the area. Diego Costa is all alone, somewhat surprisingly given how defensively minded Sunderland have been, and swings his boot at the ball, but slices it wide. If he had got the right connection, that could have been a real net-buster.

Image source, Reuters

A lovely ball by Jason Denayer finds Adnan Januzaj in space but Chelsea are quick to close him down and when he takes the shot he has three Blue shirts around him. Enough of a distraction to cause him to skew his shot wide.

It's getting a bit tasty now as Willian goes down again following another meaty challenge. Sunderland are certainly getting stuck in and Chelsea are not liking it.

A good break by Sunderland started by Jason Denayer's crunching tackle on Willian just outside his own box. David Luiz has to mop up as Sunderland counter quickly, putting the ball behind for a corner. Adnan Januzaj's ball into the box is caught, unconvincingly, by Thibaut Courtois.

Asim: Sunderland defending straight away, not a good strategy for relegation battlers.   

Ben Green: Why is nobody mentioning the fact the Sunderland are playing with 7 (SEVEN!) defenders?! Cautious.

Cesc Fabregas floats a free-kick into the box for David Luiz but it is nodded behind by a Sunderland player. Fabregas then fires in the corner but Jordan Pickford strides off his line to catch. Tough going for Chelsea at the moment.

Image source, .

The difference in tactics on show here. Sunderland have two players beyond the halfway line, while seven Chelsea players have spent the majority of the first 15 minutes in the home side's half.