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Sunderland travel to Blackpool in the Championship in their first game of 2023
Last time out Sunderland beat Wigan and Blackpool lost to Sheffield United
Sunderland fielded the youngest team to play in the top four tiers this season with an average age of 22 years and 268 days but the young team dominated a poor Wigan side and eased to a 4-1 away victory.
Ellis Simms has been recalled by Everton.
Alex Pritchard only played 2 minutes coming on as second half substitute and had to be replaced after suffering a recurrence of this calf injury. Danny Batth and Denis Cirkin could be involved. Corry Evans is expected to start after being rested.
Blackpool, who have gone eight games without a win, slip a place to 23rd in the table, while the Black Cats are now 4th with 37 points.
Tony Mowbray:
"We're competing, and the target for this club is still to stay in this league, and to try and compete around mid-table.
"That might be the case come the end of the season, depending on how the squad survives the rigours of the campaign.
"At the moment, we're not dreaming of anything else, the fans can dream of course, because we're in the mix at the moment with loads and loads of other good clubs.
"Lose two games, though, and all of a sudden you're 15th. Win two games, and all of a sudden you're fourth."
"We're really disappointed over Pritch, we'll have to assess whether it was right that he went onto the pitch, yet he had trained for a good few days and was really confident, ready and champing at the bit. That's a real frustration for us, of course.
Michael Appleton:
"The players have shown great spirit to get themselves back into the game after going 2-0 down.
"There was some really poor defensive decision making to allow that to happen but the one thing they have got is spirit in that dressing room and you could see right to the final whistle there's a never-give-up attitude which is clear to see.
"That will go a long way between now and the end of the season. We're going to need that spirit we've shown.
"There will be times in the season where two or three clubs will lose their spirit. We've got to make sure we hang in there and make sure we're not one of them."
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Match Appointments:
Referee: TIM ROBINSON
Assistant Referees: Craig Taylor and Andrew Fox
Fourth Official: Dean Whitestone
Team Lineups:
Sunderland AFC: (3-4-3) Patterson, Wright, Ballard, O’Nien, Hume, Neil, Evans, Clarke, Roberts, Omad, Stewart.
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Subs: Bass, Matete, BA, Michut, Bennette, Dajaku
Injured: Embleton, Pritchard, Huggins, Alese, Gooch, Batth, Cirkin
Blackpool (4-3-3) Grimshaw, Connolly, Ekpiteta, Husband, Thompson, Carey, Patino, Beesley, Poveda-Ocampo, Yates, Madine.
Subs: Dougall, Moore, R Williams, Lavery, Hamilton, Wright, Moore
Injured: Maxwell, Garbutt, Bridcutt, Corbeanu, Fiorini, Anderson
Betting Odds:
Sunderland 7/5 Blackpool 19/10 Draw 23/10
Prutton Predicts: meh
My two pence:
What a performance at the DW for such a young team we controlled the game and should have scored a few more goals. Blackpool are on a bad run and lets hope it continues.
I’m going for a 2-0 away win
Live Stream:
Available on Sky International TV coverage
https://www.safc.com/news/team-news/live-video
Due to EFL broadcast restrictions, SAFSee streaming will only be available to overseas-based supporters. Audio commentary will be available to all supporters.
https://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/news/...-game-selected-for-international-tv-coverage/
Ha’way the Lads
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