Sunderland won again last Friday against Sheffield Wednesday despite suffering a little setback five days earlier.
Cardiff City had beaten the Black Cats 1-0 at the Stadium of Light, due to a late Mark McGuinness header, but the Wearsiders were dominant at Hillsborough, leading by three goals before half-time.
Tony Mowbray’s side will be hoping to close the gap on the top three in the league when struggling Watford visits the North East on Wednesday night, depending on the results between Leicester and Preston North End and Ipswich Town’s clash with Hull City.
Let’s take a look at the latest news from Sunderland before of their match against Valerien Ismael’s team.
A mysterious injury is expected to impede selection ahead of the Watford match. Tony Mowbray was already expecting to be without a few first-team players, including Pierre Ekwah, Bradley Dack, and Dennis Cirkin, but a fresh concern has developed in the run-up to the Watford encounter.
Mowbray has admitted that a new injury problem this week has forced him to adjust his tactical tactics and lineup at the last minute.
“Without giving too much away, we’ve had to make some tactical changes today,” Mowbray told The Northern Echo.
“You’ll see the team when it comes out, but there’s a big difference with the injury that’s been picked up.
“That’s meant we’ve had to move the team around to make it work.
“We’ve had to do that to make sure we have enough people attacking and enough people defending.
“Otherwise, you have players moving too much in and out of possession and the balance of the team isn’t right.
“There’s lots of tactical stuff we’ve had to, but this group embrace that. It’s good that they want to learn.
“The challenges are always there. We have picked up an injury to a pretty key player in the way we play, but let’s just push on and see if we can keep the fluency of the team going.”
Southampton remain keen on winger
Not content with taking just Ross Stewart from the club in the summer transfer window, Southampton also wanted to raid their Championship rivals for Patrick Roberts as well.
However, the tricky winger remained at the Stadium of Light as Southampton’s bid – which totalled £5 million with add-ons according to Sky Sports’ Mark McAdam – was turned down.
According to the Sunday Mirror Sports Editor Darren Witcoop though, the Saints are not planning to end their interest anytime soon and they are continuing to watch Roberts’ contract situation with interest, with it expiring in June 2024 unless he signs a new deal.
Neil makes Premier League claim
Dan Neil has been a regular starter and stalwart for Sunderland in recent years after coming through the system, and according to Football Insider, there was surprise late interest from Liverpool in the summer window.
However, nothing came of it, and Neil remains certain that he can reach the top flight of English football and fulfill his ambitions with the Black Cats.
“I fully believe in this squad that we’ve got here,” Neil stated, according to the Sunderland Echo.
“I know it looks young on paper but I think we are more than good enough to compete at the top end of the table and hopefully achieve that goal of getting back to the Premier League.”
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