Chelsea have made an unusual decision to wear their black away kit for Sunday's Premier League meeting with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

According to a report by The Athletic on Saturday, 7 November 2026, Xabi Alonso's side will wear their away strip despite there being no apparent colour clash between Chelsea's traditional home kit and Sunderland's colours.

The decision comes as Chelsea prepare to build on their impressive 2-0 victory over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

It is not the first time Chelsea have opted to wear their black away kit this season. They also used the strip during their September visit to Brentford, where they suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat at the Gtech Community Stadium.

That result was regarded as one of Chelsea's poorest performances of the campaign before their subsequent 2-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.

Chelsea's results in their three kits have also attracted attention this season.

Alonso's team have worn their traditional home strip in 10 matches across all competitions, recording six victories, three defeats and one draw. Those defeats include their penalty shootout elimination against Liverpool in the EFL Cup.

Their record in the away kit is considerably less encouraging, having lost their only match in the strip against Brentford.

However, Chelsea have enjoyed better fortunes in their third kit, winning their only match in it so far after beating Everton 2-0.

The Blues will hope their black away strip produces a different outcome against Sunderland, who defeated them in the corresponding fixture last season.

Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has predicted a comfortable victory for Chelsea, backing Alonso's men to secure a 4-0 win.

Chelsea will nevertheless need to approach the contest carefully, particularly after their disappointing performance against Sunderland last season.

The fixture presents Alonso's side with another opportunity to maintain their momentum following the victory over Manchester United, while also improving their away record this campaign.