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Sunderland will look to carry over their recent excellent run in the Premier League when they go up against Middlesbrough in the fourth round of the F.A Cup on Sunday.
The Black Cats have looked a different team since Martin O’Neill took over at the Stadium of Light in December, guiding the club well clear of the relegation zone.
Now the Ulsterman has the chance to further endear himself to the Sunderland faithful with a win in the Tees-Wear derby this weekend, and furthering their cup run in the process.
Sunderland go into the game on the back of an excellent win over Swansea, with efforts from Stephane Sessegnon and Craig Gardener’s helping secure all three points in the Premier League against a Swansea side that went into the game on a high having snatched a win against Arsenal the week before.
O’Neill will be without some key players for the game, with Nicklas Bendtner set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after his coming together Angel Rangel’s boot on Saturday.
The Danish international suffered a broken nose after feeling the full force of the accidental boot of the Spanish-born full-back.
Connor Wickham took his place for the game against Swansea and put in a solid performance, while Ji Dong-won was on the bench and Frazier Campbell is nearing full-fitness giving O’Neill plenty of options to cover the injured on-loan Arsenal forward.
Middlesbrough meanwhile go into the game on the back of a shock defeat against rock-bottom Championship side Coventry, meaning Tony Mowbray’s side have now gone three league games without tasting defeat.
Boro ended that 3-1 defeat against Coventry with nine men as Julio Arca and Kevin Thomas both seeing red, meaning both men will miss the cup tie against Sunderland.
That will likely be particularly painful for Arca because of the Argentinian’s six year spell on wearside before moving to Boro in 2006.
Another man who will get to experience playing against his former side is Black Cat’s midfielder Lee Cattermole, who looks set to start against the club where he made his name before switching to Sunderland in 2009.
Despite their recent poor form, Boro still find themselves in the hunt for an automatic promotion spot, although their run of poor form means they now sit five points behind second-placed Southampton.
Match winner
With Sunderland’s excellent form and Middlesbrough’s poor form in recent weeks it comes as no surprise to find out who the bookies are backing.
The home side are 2.38 (11/8) with Ladbrokes to take the win while Boro are 5.00 (4/1) with BlueSQ, and the draw is best placed at 14/5 with BetVictor.
First Goalscorer
With Nicklas Bendtner out of action, Stephane Sessegnon has emerged as the favourite to get proceedings underway, with the free-scoring midfielder 6.00 (5/1) with Coral to do just that.
Talented youngster Connor Wickham is 7.00 (6/1) with Bet365 to score first while Boro’s best chance of scoring comes courtesy of Marvin Emnes, who is 10.00 (9/1) with the same bookmaker.
Recommended Bet
First Goalscorer: Stephane Sessegnon, 6.00 (5/1) Coral
Correct score: 3-1 Sunderland 15.00 (14/1) SkyBet
