Papy Djilobodji is adamant that Sunderland can stay up despite their nightmare afternoon on Saturday at Swansea.

A strong recent run suggested the Black Cats had turned a corner but they were brought back down to earth with a bump at the Liberty Stadium, as three second-half goals saw them taste defeat against one of their relegation rivals.

The defeat saw them drop back down to the bottom of the table and things do not get easier for David Moyes’ men, with Premier League leaders Chelsea the visitors to the Stadium of Light on Wednesday evening.

Sunderland are 9.00 to win the game, with the draw 5.50 while Antonio Conte’s side priced as the 1.33 favourites to make it 10 Premier League wins in a row.

Djilobodji will be going up against some familiar faces, having joined the Blues in the summer of 2015.

However, he only made a single appearance in the League Cup before being sent out on loan to German side Werder Bremen and then signing for Sunderland in the summer.

Despite their poor performance on Saturday, the Senegalese defender insists it is too early for his side to lose heart and is confident they can bounce back against the Blues.

“This race is not finished. We have to stay strong and stay together,” he said. “If we work hard we can survive in the Premier League.

I believe that – and everyone in the team still believes it. “I think we can win the game against Chelsea.

It’s a game I am looking forward to. They are a very good team but if we are going to stay in the Premier League then we have to stay focused and beat the next team.”