With no European commitments this is proving to be a season with as few rotations as possible for Antonio Conte and Chelsea but every now and again even he has to make exceptions.
Oscar failed to become a Chelsea superstar
Eden Hazard was not fit enough to play against Sunderland due to a slight knee injury while Nemanja Matic was rotated out of the team with one eye on a busy festive period ahead.
It meant that for the first time since the 3-0 drubbing at Arsenal – the inadvertent catalyst behind Chelsea’s Premier League resurgence – Cesc Fabregas and Willian were in the same Premier League starting line-up.