Sunderland travel to Rochdale in League One Last time out Sunderland beat Accrington and Rochdale drew at Gillingham. Sunderland bounced right back with an impressive victory at Accrington on Wednesday night. Sunderland are now third in the table, three points behind with two games in hand on second placed Barnsley. Dale are second from bottom of the table and are fighting for survival. Black Cats skipper George Honeyman is available after serving his suspension. Chris Maguire could be in contention for a place on the bench. Reece James (groin) is unavailable, but Lee Cattermole (ankle) who also missed the Accrington game due to injury will be assessed on Friday. Aiden McGeady is also a doubt after being subbed at half-time. Jack Ross: “Aiden’s season just gets better and better. He is in a really good place at the moment and I think everybody can see that.” “He just picked up a knock in the first half which is why I took him off at half-time, and we are obviously hoping it is nothing too serious and he will be OK for Saturday because he has been so important for us. It was a knock to his foot/ankle area from the tackle on him fairly early on in the corner. It wasn’t a case of taking him off because we were 2-0 up, he wouldn’t have been able to continue anyway. It’s not ultra-serious, but he was struggling with his mobility towards the end of the half and we’ll see how he is in the morning. He’s been carrying a few knocks recently, to be honest, and it is to his credit that he keeps dragging himself through them.” “The other two, Lewis and Grant, did well on Sunday, but Grant has played an awful lot of football since he came to the club while Lewis’ energy is effective for us coming off the bench as well.” “Lee has had an ongoing issue with his ankle and it has flared up again, but in fairness I would have taken him out tonight in any case just because of the demands of the 120 minutes that he put in on Sunday.” Brian Barry-Murphy: “It’s a huge game for the club and it’s symbolic of what I’ve believed we always were as a club, going up against one of the bigger teams. We’ve had some amazing days at our own ground and away at different grounds against the giants of this division." “The feedback I’ve been getting from the fans around the town is that these are the games that they love and they just want their team to represent what they are on any given day. We’ll try to play the way we’ve been playing over the last three or four games. We will try to put our input on the game and try to cause them as many problems as we can and be true to ourselves, irrespective of the result." “We’ll be desperate to win and our lads are thriving to win, and we will be doing everything we can to try and win. I think it’s imperative that we perform the way that we want to perform.” Form: Prutton predicts: 0-2 Away win Rochdale have gone four unbeaten since parting company with manager Keith Hill, and their game in hand on most of the sides above them gives them a real opportunity of survival. Sunderland needed to bounce back quickly from their defeat at Wembley last weekend, and they did just that at Accrington on Wednesday. They are right in the battle for the top two now and have momentum in the league. Match Appointments: Referee: CARL BOYESON Assistant Referees: David Avent and Kevin Mulraine Fourth Official: Billy Smallwood Team Line ups Sunderland: McLaughlan, O’Nien, Baldwin, Flanagan, Hume, Leadbitter, McGeouch, Honeyman, Morgan, Wyke, McGeady Subs: Ruiter, Ozturk, Dunne, Gooch, Power, Sterling, Grigg Injured: Love, Maguire, Watmore, Matthews, Cattermole, James Rochdale: Lillis, Ebanks-Landell, McNulty, Ntlhe, McLaughlin, Rathbone, Camps, Bunney, Henderson, Wilbraham, Done Subs: Delaney, Dooley, Andrew, Keohane, Holden, Hamilton, Wade Injured: tbc Betting Odds: Home 3/1 Away 4/5 Draw 13/5 My two pence: A fantastic reaction at Accrington and good performances from McGeough, Wyke, Hume and Sterling, which means that Jack will have some tricky decisions to make on team selection. My guess is a 3-1 away win. Ha’way the Lads
Come on!!! We’ve just got to win this though it might be tough as they’re on a good wee run of their own. Surely we will be too strong, so long as we are not complacent. Another 0-3 to the lads. Bart
Nearly every bugger we play in this league is on some sort of a good run but Dale are second bottom for a reason and we should have enough to see them off 2-0. come on lads you've got the bit between your teeth so keep it going.
Rochdale seem to have got a new manager bounce and recent results are on the up... be that as it may... they may be fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table... but so are we... we just have to get automatic promotion... Not sure about injuries..but start with the same side?
Rest McGeady for this game, Morgan should fill in ok for him, we also have power who could play there, Sterling to come on again for Grigg/Wyke, gooch and Catts could come on also. 1-2 to the lads. Back to 4-4-2 next week though.
Could be a massive day. Ideal scenario we win and Barnsley drop points. Wednesday has put the ball firmly in our court and we need to continue to crank the pressure on Barnsley who do seem to be creaking slightly at the moment. 3 home games after this one so another win is vital to keep up the momentum.
Every game is vital none more so than this one, the bench is crucial and JR has to use it wisely, he usually does, I see a tight win, OaU.
I agree with Bart. 0-3. I expected some weary legs on Wednesday. Good changes by JR ensured we didnt see that. Even with injuries we have a strength in depth on the bench and that is without Kimpi or Mumba who could step up if necessary.
I’ll be babysitting two littluns - but only if they sit quietly through two hours of match stream - otherwise it’s down to the wife. She’s s goodun really KTF
I've been looking at Rochdale, and if you set off from there to go to Accrington, that's also 13 miles. And people don't believe in coincidences
That reminds me of the time I asked for directions, and the reply I got back after a few well intended attempts was, "You can't get there from here."
i AWAIT THIS MATCH IN TREPIDATION, have a crate of Reissdorf kolsch heavenly nectar, along with a bottle of Bushmills to celebrate our 6.0 thumping of them , no mercy given, onwards and upwards haway the lads
