Sunderland host Sheffield United at Stadium of Light in a crunch Sky Bet Championship clash.
Victory could see Sunderland go as high as seventh if Norwich and West Brom both lose elsewhere, whilst Sheffield Utd can move six points clear of third-placed Middlesbrough with a win.
Team News
Alex Pritchard could return for Sunderland after he missed their win at Norwich last Sunday, due to a minor injury.
Dennis Cirkin (concussion), Niall Huggins (fitness), Aji Alese (thigh), Corry Evans (knee), Elliot Embleton (ankle), Amad Diallo (hamstring) and Ross Stewart (Achilles) remain absent.
Sheffield Utd could welcome midfielder, Tommy Doyle back into contention if manager – Paul Heckingbottom opts to rotate his squad.
Jack O’Connell (fitness), Enda Stevens (muscle), Rhys Norrington-Davies, Ben Osborn and Rhian Brewster (all hamstring) remain ruled out.
When is Kick-Off?
Sunderland host Sheffield Utd at Stadium of Light in a 8pm GMT kick-off on Wednesday 15 March, live on Sky Sports in UK.
Stat Attack
- Sunderland have won just one of their last five league meetings against Sheffield Utd (W1, L4).
- Sheffield United have won just one of their last seven regular-season league visits to Sunderland (W1, D1, L5).
- Sunderland have scored in eight of their last nine home meetings against Sheffield Utd.
- Tony Mowbray’s Black Cats have kept just two clean sheets in six home games in all competitions in 2023, which came in wins over Middlesbrough and Reading in January and February respectively.
- Each of Sheffield Utd’s last five matches in all competitions have been settled by 1-0 result, with the Blades winning three of those five games (W3, L2).
Prediction
Having ended their winless rut with a resilient win at Norwich, Sunderland will certainly enter this game full of renewed confidence especially given their hot goal-scoring streak, but they will be wary of Sheffield Utd’s dangerous quality.
Paul Heckingbottom’s Blades though are in their own inconsistent rut and worringly lacked much intensity in their defeat against Luton, whilst their marking was poor which is a worrying sign because something seems to have gone wrong performance wise given their previous strong form.
A win here therefore is crucial for the Blades if they want to head into their FA Cup Quarter-Final against Blackburn with momentum, but I feel like Sunderland could cause enough issues to deny the visitors victory.
Prediction: Sunderland 1-1 Sheffield United
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