Sunderland host Fleetwood Town in League One Last time out in the league Sunderland drew with Oxford and Fleetwood beat Bradford. The Black Cats will be looking for an improved performance after the home draw with Oxford. Max Power is unavailable after the appeal to rescind his red card was over-ruled. Flanagan and Sinclair played in mid-week and should be back in contention. Mumba and Oviedo are on international duty so there will be some new faces in the team and the squad. Fleetwood will be relishing the opportunity to play at the Stadium of Light – it won’t get any better for them to play in front of a big crowd. Joey Barton will look to in-form Ched Evans to extend his goal tally, having scored 5 times so far this season. Fleetwood’s Wes Burns was dismissed in their home game with Bradford and is unavailable for the next three games. Jack Ross: "I think the players coming back in forward areas is helping us in particular. Josh and Chris have done unbelievably very well to enable us to get the points we have done, on board at the moment. We’ve asked an awful lot of them and asked them to do roles that were slightly unusual for them and asked them to play in a manner that isn’t always natural to them." "Charlie Wyke being fit and Jerome Sinclair being fit just strengthens our options and enables us to change the game a bit better, so that’s a massive boost. The other ones just strengthen our options in areas, rather than giving us completely different options. I think what it does is that it increases the motivation for the players that are playing in the team, to make sure they’re playing well and that’s always a healthy thing to have as a manager." "I concern myself with how thoroughly we prepare, but in terms of what other teams do and where they’re at, it doesn’t really bother me. It’s hard enough to work at this club, the task at this club and the size of this club to focus on what I’m doing. But, I’m looking forward to the game and it’s an opportunity for me to go up against another young manager. I’ve enjoyed all the different tests we’ve had this season, I’ve came up against very different characters in the dugout and very different teams and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I’m sure Saturday will be the same." Joey Barton: “When you look at where Fleetwood have come from and how they are progressing still, because there still is a gap between ourselves and Sunderland in size and structure; we will be going there in form and I honestly believe we aren’t a million miles away from them as a team.” “For me it’s another game and as a player, I played in big derby matches and one was against Sunderland and I just see the three points on the line. Just like it was against Bradford last Saturday.” “That is our challenge, we are in the league with some big clubs and Sunderland aren’t the first to club of their size to be in League One with the likes of the two Sheffield teams and Leeds, so we go there with a shot of picking up the points.” “It’s like David and Goliath in terms of finances and the supporters, but on the pitch is where it matters, and I don’t see a David versus Goliath. I think we are slightly better than them!” “When you’re a player, and at Newcastle, it was a derby between us and them, and for me now it’s just another game and another team in our way trying to stop us where we want to be.” Prutton predicts: 1-1 Match Appointments: Referee: DARREN DRYSDALE Assistants: Robert Atkin and Thomas Harty Fourth Official: Thomas Bramall Team Line ups Sunderland: McLaughlin, James, Baldwin, Flanagan, Matthews, Cattermole, McGeouch, Honeyman, Gooch, Maja, Maguire. Substitutes: Ruiter, Loovens, Hume, O’Nien, Robson, Wyke, Sinclair. Injured: Watmore, McGeady Suspended: Power Unavailable: Mumba (England U18), Oviedo (Costa Rica) Fleetwood Town: Cairns, Coyle, Eastham, Morgan, Husband, Wallace, Holt, Marney, Hunter, Evans, Madden Substitutes: Spurr, McAleny, Long, Jones, Biggins, Sheron Injured: tbc Suspended: Burns Betting Odds: H 4/5 A 7/2 D 13/5 My two pence: After a hard fought draw against Oxford last week we are still unbeaten in the league but it would be really great to get back to winning ways with our first ever fixture with Fleetwood Town, especially as it's against Joey Barton’s team. My guess is a 2-1 home win If you can't get to the SoL - Watch it live here Ha’way the Lads
I hope Sinclair starts infront of Maguire. Hes been great upto now, but i think we need to mix it up abit. Weve started the same front 3 in every game now so i think were ready for a change. Id play:- .................Mclaughlin............. Mathews..Baldwin....Flanagan....Hume ............Catts.....Mcgeouch.......... Gooch.......Honeyman........Sinclair ........................Maja................ Ive put Flanagan in but thats only because Loovens is a doubt. Hume deserves to keep his place after the other night and id move him on his natural side and bring fit again Mathews back in at Rb.
Yeah can't really argue with that - he might leave Wyke and Sinclair on the bench - at least we have better options available now.
Our options are very good now. Weve now finally got 3 strikers available with the added bonus of Sinclair being able to play out wide. Hes a big strong lump for a young lad, i think he'll terrorize defenders in this league when hes back to full fittness. Watford paid 4m for him less than 2 years ago so the lad has alot of talent, he just needs games.
I think it'll be a home win, I'd like to think that Ross will have worked on sorting out our sluggish starts and having Baldwin and Flanagan might be key to that, at least when it comes to not conceding, and we've got the firepower to beat anyone in this league.
Wen't for a 3 pointer home win, just a feeling like,that we'll have three or four onion's in the bag.
Joke that we are in the same league frankly. I’m confident think Barton has ****ed his own team up his arse and got the crowd bang up for a game that in reality we wouldn’t have given a **** about. 4-1 the lads. You watch.
Totally disagree with you on that point mate. I said somewhere else I think this is our toughest game so far and we need to be at our best to avoid a banana skin. If we do our usual and give them a goal start we'll find it far harder to recover as we have done against other teams. We need to be on form from the get-go, not the 30th minute! If we beat them in the way that you suggest, 4-1 ish, then that really will be a big statement to the rest of the league!
I hope we they not as rough as last week though, if Mcgeady starts we will win but maybe too early for him.
Ladies and gentlemen This is Mambo No. 5! One, two, three, four, five Everybody in the car, so come on let's ride To the liquor store around the corner The boys say they want some gin and juice But I really don't wanna Beer bust, like I had last week I must stay deep, 'cause talk is cheap I like Angela, Pamela, Sandra and Rita And as I continue you know they're getting sweeter So what can I do? I really beg you, my Lord To me flirting is just like a sport Anything fly, it's all good let me dump it Please set in the trumpet A little bit of Monica in my life A little bit of Erica by my side A little bit of Rita is all I need A little bit of Tina is what I see A little bit of Sandra in the sun A little bit of Mary all night long A little bit of Jessica here I am A little bit of you makes me your man Mambo No. 5! Jump up and down and move it all around Shake your head to the sound Put your hands on the ground Take one step left and one step right One to the front and one to the side Clap your hands once and clap your hands twice And if it looks like this then you're doing it right A little bit of Monica in my life A little bit of Erica by my side A little bit of Rita is all I need A little bit of Tina is what I see A little bit of Sandra in the sun A little bit of Mary all night long A little bit of Jessica here I am A little bit of you makes me your man Trumpet! The trumpet! Mambo No. 5! (Ha ha ha) A little bit of Monica in my life A little bit of Erica by my side A little bit of Rita is all I need A little bit of Tina is what I see A little bit of Sandra in the sun A little bit of Mary all night long A little bit of Jessica here I am A little bit of you makes me your man I do ought to Fall in love with a girl like you Cause you can't run, you can't hide You and me gonna touch the sky Mambo No. 5!
I have voted away win but praying I'm wrong. I hate losing but to lose to JB would be a nightmare. Praying we thrash the living daylights out of them and make him eat his words. Personally I think when the away players names are announced we should boo like we do with Newcastle. I think a lot of the Fleetwood lads arses would drop out.
Broken record but going for clean sheet and 2 - 0 hopefully as others have said we start a bit more brightly rather than wait to concede before we get fired up.
