Halford: we don't fear Chelsea

Sunderland player Greg Halford admits that although his side may be the big underdogs in this encounter, his side are more than capable of picking up a result at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are unbeaten in 70 games at home.

Halford played Chelsea in the FA Cup with Colchester a few seasons back and took the Premiership side to the wire.

"With us being Colchester, we were given no chance ahead of the game," he said. "But we actually took the lead and caused them a lot of problems and really stretched them.

"Although they got it back to 1-1 before half-time, we had other chances to take the lead again.

"In the end they had to bring on the big guns of Cole, Frank Lampard and Hernan Crespo to force the win – and they got two late goals.

"But that game showed me that if you have the right attitude and you work hard, you can frustrate them. It is possible to cause an upset if things go your way."

Any team can be beaten on the day

"It goes without saying how good they are, they've got some of the very best players in the world," he said.

"And from a defensive point of view, we know they can score goals from all over the pitch – from Didier Drogba up front to John Terry at the back.

"But any team can be beaten on the day, any team can be given problems and that's what we have to try to do against Chelsea. We've got to look to give them something to think about.

"If we are at our best and we don't catch them on one of those days when they're at their very best, then we've got a chance of getting a great result."