Sunderland v Middlesbrough Cheat Sheet
Sunderland v Middlesbrough
Kick Off: 12:00
Competition: Championship
Watch Live: Sky Sports Football
Sunday afternoon sees Middlesbrough travel to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland in the Tees-Wear derby. The two teams are separated by just four points at this stage as the visitors sit in 4th whilst the Black Cats are in 10th coming into this one. The home side lost 3-1 at home to Swansea last week – a game where Luke O’Nien was sent off in the 18th minute at 0-0. The visitors are flying under new boss Michael Carrick after a slow start and have won their last four in the Championship, beating Millwall 1-0 last time out.
Sunderland are loving life on their return to the Championship following their promotion from League One last season despite losing Alex Neil at the start of the season. Tony Mowbray has replaced him and they have continued to move from strength to strength. Their loss last time out was their first in six and they will believe that they can push for the playoffs. However, their home form has been poor, and they have won just four of their 13 matches at the Stadium of Light this season.
They will be without Ellis Simms for the remainder of the season after he was recalled by Everton after scoring seven goals and recording two assists in the first half of the season. O’Nien’s red card against Swansea means he will be suspended for this one and he should be replaced by Danny Batth here in what could be their only change from that match. Niall Huggins and Ali Alese are recovering from injuries and could be on the bench here.
Middlesbrough were tipped by plenty of people for promotion at the start of the season but a slow start which saw them win just two of their opening 11 matches, manager Chris Wilder was sacked with the club sat in 22nd. He was replaced by Michael Carrick who has been impressive since his appointment at the end of October. The former Manchester United man has won eight of his first 12 matches in charge, with his only defeats being at Preston in his first match, at league leaders Burnley and at home to Premier League opponents Brighton in the FA Cup.
They are behind only West Brom and Burnley in terms of number of points picked up in the last ten with 25 in that time. Carrick will be able to name an unchanged side here if he wants but may also bring in Cameron Archer to the starting eleven, who has joined on loan from Aston Villa. Centre backs Darragh Lenihan and Matt Clarke remain out and are still not back in training yet.
Selection: 1 of 4
Prediction: Over 2.5 Goals
Odds: 1.91
Sunderland games have seen plenty of goals in recent weeks. Both teams have scored in each of their last seven and there have been at least three goals in six of their eight games since the return of football following the World Cup.
Their last six at home have seen an average of 3.33 goals per game, and they have scored nine in that time, conceding 11. This selection has landed in five of those six matches. The last two head to heads here have seen at least three goals and last time Middlesbrough were here the two teams played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with two first half red cards.
Boro games have also seen plenty of goals since the return of football. They have scored in each of their seven matches and last weeks 1-0 win over Millwall was their first clean sheet in those matches. It was also the first time that one of their games has not seen three goals.
Away from home this season they have seen an average of 3.21 goals per game but this rises to 3.50 goals per game when just the last six are taken into consideration. Each of those six matches have seen three or more goals, with five seeing both teams find the back of the next.
Selection: 2 of 4
Prediction: Ross Stewart to have 1+ Shots on Target
Odds: 1.44
Ross Stewart has been integral to this Sunderland side despite missing a lot of the season with injury. Last season’s top scorer, he has nine goals and three assists in just 10 starts. He averages 3.59 shots per game and 1.42 shots on target per match.
Saturday’s match against Swansea was just the second time he did not have a shot on target in a match he had started this season. The other occasion that he did hit the target in a match he started was at Sheffield United and the similarity between the two is that Sunderland had a man sent off in the first half in both games.
He missed the return fixture at Middlesbrough with an injury and will be desperate to score in a derby, even if Boro are not Sunderland’s fiercest rivals.
Selection: 3 of 4
Prediction: Chuba Akpom to have 1+ Shots on Target
Odds: 1.40
Chuba Akpom is on a run of form that not even he could have seen coming. He has scored 11 goals since the 19th October to fire himself up the top scorer table where he is currently at the top alone with 13 goals.
He has had 55 shots this season, with Millwall away being his only appearance without an attempt. He has also had at least one shot on target in ten of his last 12 matches, including eight in his last five.
He seems to have rediscovered his confidence under Michael Carrick and will be relishing the opportunity to face a Sunderland defence with plenty of issues at the back.
Selection: 4 of 4
Prediction: Amad Diallo to have 2+ Shots
Odds: 1.40
Amad Diallo has been sensational this season after not finding his form with his first loan move from Manchester United to Rangers. He has six goals and one assist in his 13 starts and is currently averaging 2.27 shots per 90 minutes, with 0.85 of those being on target.
Their match against Swansea last time out ended a run of four consecutive matches with four shots and it was also the first match he has not had a shot in a match in which he has started this season. In his 13 starts, he has had at least two shots in eight of them.
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