Chelsea plans for Sunderland clash disrupted by emergency evacuation as fire services are called out

The fire brigade was called and arrived at the ground to check what had caused the trigger to the alarm. Fortunately, it was confirmed that it was just a false alarm and everyone was allowed to return to the building.

When the alarm was sounded, many of the Chelsea players were already ready and dressed in their training kit ready for the session to begin. The Blues were then able to carry out their training session as normal, and on time, despite the earlier confusion and concerns, as per the Express.

Following the incident, Chelsea released a statement, which read: "Fire services responded to an automatically triggered alarm at Chelsea FC's Cobham training facility. As a precaution, all staff were safely evacuated.

"Emergency services confirmed a false alarm, and staff and players were able to return to the building."

The training session went ahead as normal and the situation is unlikely to have affected the squad too much, at least Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca will hope not. The Blues can make it five wins in a row across all competitions on Saturday afternoon and can close the gap on those teams pulling away at the top of the table.

Chelsea sit on 14 points, one off both Bournemouth and Liverpool ahead of them and two points away from Manchester City in second. There remains some distance between them and the league leaders Arsenal though, five points short of the Gunners’ total of 19.

Maresca will have wanted to have had a stronger start to the new season, particularly off the back of winning the Club World Cup in the summer, but defeats to Brighton and Manchester United have halted their ascent up the division.

The Blues will have to be careful to check behind them and not just look ahead. Should they lose against Sunderland, they could fall quickly and as low as 11th in the table, dependant on results going that way. The Black Cats are on equal points with the Blues, who are also surrounded by London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace.

Regis Le Bris’ Sunderland will provide a tough test for the young Blues. The Black Cats have performed admirably since their promotion to the Premier League and have been galvanised by a string of impressive signings.

The Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka knows what it is like to beat Chelsea as well, having been on the winning side against the Blues on a number of times with Arsenal. The Swiss midfielder famously struck home a long-range free-kick to fire the Gunners to a 3-0 win on Boxing Day and save Mikel Arteta from the sack.

Up front, Wilson Isidor has knocked in a handful of goals and is supported by the likes of Enzo Le Fee and former Blues forward Bertrand Traore.

Chelsea players and fans will be expecting to take all three points from the game on Saturday. The Blues are heavy favourites and, should they drop any silly points against the Black Cats, they can wave goodbye to any potential title charge. The Blues are without Cole Palmer, Liam Delap, Levi Colwill and Malo Gusto for the game, but have enough squad depth to patch up the holes in the team.