Sunderland visit Oxford in the Skybet League One. Last time out Sunderland beat Gillingham and Oxford lost at Morecambe. Nathan Broadhead hopes that he has timed his comeback from injury to perfection as Sunderland look to secure a play-off place in the final month of the season. Broadhead was the Black Cats' hero when he came off the bench to score a 95th minute winner against Gillingham at the Stadium of Light at the weekend, lifting the club back into the play-off spots. However, Wycombe won their mid-week game at Cambridge to reclaim the last play-off spot ahead of the Black Cats. Oxford dropped to 7th place at the weekend and failed to secure any points at Morecambe on Tuesday evening, slipping further to 8th place, just below Sunderland. Alex Neil: "I don't think it was any more than we deserved, really," said Neil. "I've looked at the stats, where we had 80 percent of the possession, five shots at goal, and I thought that the performance was very good. I know that it took us until the 95th minute to score the goal, but you couldn't be critical of how many times we got the ball in the final third areas. It was maybe the final ball, the final run, the final pass, that meant that we didn't create more. "We had 25 shots on goal and only five on target, and that's something that we need to improve on, but at this stage of the season it is about getting the job done and winning the game. We were really dominant, we penned them back, and I'm not bothered who you are, it's really difficult to break a team down when they put ten or 11 men behind the ball. "There's a long, long way to go and we've got a lot of big games coming up, but as you can probably tell, I don't get too high about things that happen, and I don't get too low about things that happen either. Once it is done, it's done, and I have to plan for the next bit, which is what I'm trying to do right now. I don't get ahead of myself. We won on Saturday, we did what was required, and I'm really pleased, but this week is really important now as well. It's going to be that snowball effect where every game becomes bigger and bigger.” Karl Robinson: Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Mike Cooper is the best in League One. That’s the view of Oxford United boss Karl Robinson after his Oxford side played The U’s. The 22-year-old stopper denied Oxford United twice in the first 17 minutes in the League One clash at Home Park. “Their goalkeeper is the best in the league. We knew how good he was, and it's not just that he makes good saves, but he starts a lot of their good play. He picks the right option more often than not. Whether it’s quick play or slowing the game down, he does certain things that make a good player.” Match Appointments: Referee: BEN TONER Assistant Referees: Andrew Aylott & Justin Amey Fourth Official: Andy Bennett Team Line ups Sunderland: (4-2-3-1)Patterson; Cirkin, Wright, Batth, Winchester, Neil, O’Nien, Pritchard, Roberts, Clarke, Stewart Subs: Hoffmann, Doyle, Matete, Evans, Embleton, Gooch, Broadhead Injured: Burge, Willis, Huggins, McGeady. Oxford: (3-4-3) Stevens; Long, McNally, Brown; Sykes, Kane, McGuane, Williams; Taylor (capt), Whyte, Bodin. Subs: Eastwood, Forde, Winnall, Mousinho, Henry, Holland, Seddon. Injured: Browne, Baldock, Gorrin, Hanson Betting Odds: Sunderland 13/8 Oxford 29/20 Draw 12/5 My two pence: Another frustrating game last week where we looked good at times but just could not score. We are getting back to playing some good football and it was great to see Pritchard and Broadhead back in the team. Oh, and we won of course. Oxford will be looking to make up lost ground and will want to bounce back after 2 defeats, so it will be a tough game as they like to play proper football. Unfortunately this game clashes with my trip to Spain, so I’ll have to catch up with the result once the plane lands. I’m going for a 1-1 draw Live Stream: (Overseas fans) https://www.safc.com/news/team-news/live-video Ha’way the Lads
Great stuff, as always. I like your lineup but we all know Evans will be in there somewhere . I'm going for a comfortable 0-2 win in thins one. Rossco and Roberts on the scoresheet. HTL
Top thread mate. Massive game and I really hope we attack going all out for 3 points but I can see a draw in this one…
Thanks again for your brilliant efforts RTB. I never predict and I'm not starting now. Hoping for the win. It would put us 4 points ahead of Oxford with a game in hand and hopefully extinguish their hopes. Enjoy your Spanish break.
Cracking as always RTB mate. I would love to see Neil start. Evans has played well last couple of games though. I would definitely mix it up now with Neil and Matete in. Also would think about resting Stewart if Broadhead is 100%. He could really benefit from a quick breather. What options we have.
Cracking thread as always @RTB. As much as I would love us to batter then from the first minute to the last and run out easy winners, I will settle for any performance as long as we bring home the 3 points. Saying that, Oxford will have to actually attack at some point rather than just stick 10 behind the ball so you would like to think out front 4 will have that bit more space to work some magic
Yeah, can't see past a draw really. 0-0 or 1-1 We've played them 8 times since dropping into this **** league and 5 of them have finished 1-1
He might go 3 at the back to match up against Oxford (and allows him to squeeze Broadhead into the side) Patterson Winchester Wright Cirkin Gooch Evans O'Nien Clarke Pritchard Stewart Broadhead Although I can't see him dropping Roberts Options....options.....
We've got a decent record against these and expect that to continue, Oxford are on a poor run and we've got to ensure that continues. No letting up now, 90 minutes at full tilt should be enough to bag the points here. Great thread RTB, enjoy your break.
RTB We all know they are all must wins in order for us to make the play-offs, this game against a rival for a play-off places, even more so. If we were at home I would be more confident, another point is they need to win, so it probably will not be 11 men behind the ball and blatant time wasting. As to team Broadhead if fit has to play, Neil and Matete? Evans? Pritchard? Over to the manager...
We’ve kept clean sheets in our last 3 away games but 2 of those were 0-0 draws. Not good enough. Let’s just win, clean sheets are a nice bonus.
