However, this upcoming match at the Stadium of Light isn’t the easiest fixture for Oliver Glasner’s men. Sunderland are still yet to taste defeat on home turf this campaign, boasting the record of five wins and seven draws across all competitions. They have taken points away from the likes of Man City, Arsenal and Aston Villa, highlighting just how strong they have been at the Stadium of Light. 

By contrast, Crystal Palace have registered just two points from their last six league games, meaning they have slumped to 13th in the Premier League standings. After ranking as high as fourth at the start of December, it has been a sharp drop in form for the Eagles, and they haven’t shown any signs of recovering - in fact, their recent loss against Macclesfield was a new low. Sunderland will recognise this as a great opportunity to capitalise and secure a positive result.

The Black Cats have every reason to approach this match on the front foot, hoping to break out of a five-game winless streak in the league. Sunderland have had some difficult fixtures in that stretch, but they have been able to create some good chances, and have drawn at least two saves in each of the last five. That includes forcing Gianluigi Donnarumma into four saves when Man City visited the Stadium of Light on new years day.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have struggled to limit opposition chances in recent weeks, meaning Dean Henderson has had plenty of work to get through. The Englishman has made a total of 13 saves across his last three Premier League games alone, taking his average to 2.71 saves per game this campaign. That figure rises to 2.9 when playing away, where Henderson has landed this selection in nine of his ten games in total, only failing to hit this mark against Wolves back in November.

Since completing his move from Tottenham, Brennan Johnson has looked eager to impress in south London, although his performances so far haven’t been much to write home about. Palace were beaten 2-0 by Newcastle on his debut, before drawing 0-0 against Aston Villa on his only other start. 

Johnson was carded in both of those games - he committed a cynical foul in the first half against the Magpies, and was booked for diving against Villa. However, he still racked up an additional three fouls in that game. The Welshman is not particularly renowned for his duels, but he did have an average of 1.06 fouls per 90 for Spurs last season when he started regularly. 

With Reinildo eyeing a return to the Sunderland first-team picture after returning from AFCON, Johnson could have an ideal matchup here. The Mozambique international is averaging 2.11 fouls drawn per 90 this season for the Black Cats.

Nordi Mukiele is averaging a measly 0.52 shots per 90 across all competitions this season, which isn’t particularly impressive, but there is value in this price. The Frenchman has shown a notable uptick in shots when playing at the Stadium of Light this term - averaging 1.0 shots per 90 when playing at home.

In fact, he has landed this selection in eight out of ten starts overall, with one of those misses coming against Man City last time out. However, it’s worth mentioning that Mukiele played at centre back in that game. 

Regis Le Bris has been quite fluid with his tactical setups, and Mukiele has either featured at fullback, or in a back three. When playing at fullback, he is given a lot more attacking freedom to get forward, and he looks set to line up at right back against Crystal Palace.