Hiddink - Blues at full strength

Hiddink: Not planning changes

LIVE ON SKY SPORTS
Aston Villa v Newcastle
3.00pm, Sun, Sky Sports 1 & HD1
Hull v Manchester United
4.00pm, Sun, Sky Sports 3 & HD3
Sunderland v Chelsea
4.00pm, Sun, Sky Sports 3
(via the red button)

Related links

Teams

• Chelsea
• Sunderland

Also see

• Football on Sky
• Sky Sports experts
• Super 6: Win £100k

Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink plans to field his strongest side in the showdown with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on 'Survival Sunday'.

The Black Cats go into the game with their fate in their own hands, but have only a two-point cushion over bitter local rivals Newcastle who currently occupy the final relegation spot.

Hull City are only one point adrift as they prepare to tackle Manchester United, who are expected to rest a number of key players with the UEFA Champions League final against Barcelona on Wednesday.

Hiddink has no plans to follow suit despite the Blues coming up against Everton in the FA Cup final the following weekend as he prefers to keep his key men involved in match action.

Rhythm

He said: "We're taking every game seriously, even those we play on the Cobham training pitch. There won't be many changes to the previous line-up.

"If we want to play the cup final with our most strong squad, then we must be very careful not to get them injured.

"There's always a risk of injuries but I like my players to be in a good rhythm so I'm not in favour of giving them time off. Their intensity might go down and we'll need that in the final.

"We are thinking of the cup final, that's for sure. But looking at our team and that of Manchester United, if there are changes, the strength of the team is almost on the same level.

"If we make two or three changes the team will still be very competitive whoever plays. I'm not talking for Manchester United, but they can do that too."

Hiddink's spell at Stamford Bridge will come to an end after the FA Cup final and he is determined to go out on a high having seen his side suffer just one defeat in his time at the helm.

Sharp

He added: "This week we've practised very seriously. I don't want the team to slip away at the end of the season having done what was expected of us in the league in my time.

"It's rather human for sides to slip away in that situation, but we have a big game coming up so we need to be physically and mentally very sharp.

"It's up to us to play a serious game. We expect a lot of opposition from Sunderland, of course, so we have to play as we can.

"The teams who are playing on two or three roads, like us and Manchester United, have constructed very competitive squads. So it's not a weakened team that will start.

"United played Everton in the semi-finals of the FA Cup and their starting line-up had younger players, but they did very well."