Sunderland Vs Norwich:
Official Sunderland Not606 Match Thread
Stadium Of Light
Sunderland Team News
Early News: On Wearside, Carlos Cuellar still has a hurt hip, but Jack Colback and Keiren Westwood should be fit again.
Norwich Team News
Early News: Robert Snodgrass (knee), Anthony Pilkington (hamstring), Alex Tettey (ankle) and Elliott Bennett (knee) huddle for warmth glumly in an East Anglian treatment room, while Mark Bunn and Ricky van Wolfswinkel skip happily free from medical custody.
Poyet
"I need us to control it as we did against West Ham and be strong mentally and physically, like we were against Chelsea," he told reporters.
"Any team coming to the Stadium of Light knows that the home team play well and, if the home team scores, it becomes very difficult because the fans are so amazing in getting behind their team.
"I'm sure the Norwich game will be about who controls it and we have to control it in the boxes – that's where we need to be at our strongest.
"We are confident after beating Chelsea in the cup and drawing with West Ham in the league in the last week.
"We are fit after playing extra time and now we have Jack Colback and Steven Fletcher back – so we have no excuses.
Hughton
“It will be as big a challenge as any other game we will play in this division,”
“Sunderland are on the back of a very good win, albeit not in the league, so they will be buoyed by that - but that is them."
“We are also in good form ourselves, on the back of a very good away win at West Brom and a good performance against Swansea, so will be looking for that to continue."
“We have gone through a spell of late where we have shown some confidence in front of goal."
“Gus Poyet is the Sunderland manager and has to do everything he can to make sure his team get the result, but I am the manager here at Norwich and my concerns and thoughts are only to focus on our own team and getting the result we want to get.”
One To Watch
Fabio Borini
He's quick, agile, tenacious and hungry. With two very important goals to his name combined with those attributes imagine what goals in back to back games could do for the lively italian?
The Managers
The duo have met twice before in their former guises as bosses of Brighton & Hove Albion (Gus) and Birmingham City (Chris) – with a 1-1 draw (in October 2011) and a 0-0 stalemate (in April 2012) resulting. Poyet is determined to get all his sides playing decent passing football, while Hughton will probably adapt a more pragmatic approach away from home. Expect it to be tight.
What the 'Experts' Say
Lawrenson
Sunderland got an absolutely top result in midweek with their Capital One Cup win over Chelsea but what impressed me most was the way they kept going until the end of that match.
The Black Cats are four points adrift at the bottom of the Premier League but they have picked up under Gus Poyet and they are in better shape than the league table suggests.
Norwich were second-best at the start of their 1-1 draw against Swansea last week but, the way they ended that game, they probably should have won it. All they were lacking was a bit of composure in the final third.
The heat has been off Canaries boss Chris Hughton a little bit for a couple of weeks now, but a defeat by the bottom side might put it back on him.
Sunderland essentially have to win these kind of games if they are going to have a chance of staying up.
Lawro's prediction: 2-1
Merson
This game is like a cup final. It's a big game for Norwich, but it's 100 times more important for Sunderland because they have to win. They had to play extra time in midweek, but they came through that and rode their luck so fair play to them. There looks to be a good team spirit there and I've seen enough from them in that game to suggest they will be good enough to win this important match. I really fancy them.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1
What the Phallus says
We could do with a comfortable win and a clean sheet, Norwich offers the first chance in a while to put in a reassuring, calming, home performance in the league to help steady our form and get 3 much needed points on the board. 2-0
Last 4 Meetings
Betting
Live match stream
Click here for links to a choice of match streams
Official Sunderland Not606 Match Thread
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Stadium Of Light
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Sunderland Team News
Early News: On Wearside, Carlos Cuellar still has a hurt hip, but Jack Colback and Keiren Westwood should be fit again.
Norwich Team News
Early News: Robert Snodgrass (knee), Anthony Pilkington (hamstring), Alex Tettey (ankle) and Elliott Bennett (knee) huddle for warmth glumly in an East Anglian treatment room, while Mark Bunn and Ricky van Wolfswinkel skip happily free from medical custody.
Poyet
"I need us to control it as we did against West Ham and be strong mentally and physically, like we were against Chelsea," he told reporters.
"Any team coming to the Stadium of Light knows that the home team play well and, if the home team scores, it becomes very difficult because the fans are so amazing in getting behind their team.
"I'm sure the Norwich game will be about who controls it and we have to control it in the boxes – that's where we need to be at our strongest.
"We are confident after beating Chelsea in the cup and drawing with West Ham in the league in the last week.
"We are fit after playing extra time and now we have Jack Colback and Steven Fletcher back – so we have no excuses.
Hughton
“It will be as big a challenge as any other game we will play in this division,”
“Sunderland are on the back of a very good win, albeit not in the league, so they will be buoyed by that - but that is them."
“We are also in good form ourselves, on the back of a very good away win at West Brom and a good performance against Swansea, so will be looking for that to continue."
“We have gone through a spell of late where we have shown some confidence in front of goal."
“Gus Poyet is the Sunderland manager and has to do everything he can to make sure his team get the result, but I am the manager here at Norwich and my concerns and thoughts are only to focus on our own team and getting the result we want to get.”
One To Watch
Fabio Borini
You must log in or register to see images
He's quick, agile, tenacious and hungry. With two very important goals to his name combined with those attributes imagine what goals in back to back games could do for the lively italian?
The Managers
The duo have met twice before in their former guises as bosses of Brighton & Hove Albion (Gus) and Birmingham City (Chris) – with a 1-1 draw (in October 2011) and a 0-0 stalemate (in April 2012) resulting. Poyet is determined to get all his sides playing decent passing football, while Hughton will probably adapt a more pragmatic approach away from home. Expect it to be tight.
What the 'Experts' Say
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Lawrenson
Sunderland got an absolutely top result in midweek with their Capital One Cup win over Chelsea but what impressed me most was the way they kept going until the end of that match.
The Black Cats are four points adrift at the bottom of the Premier League but they have picked up under Gus Poyet and they are in better shape than the league table suggests.
Norwich were second-best at the start of their 1-1 draw against Swansea last week but, the way they ended that game, they probably should have won it. All they were lacking was a bit of composure in the final third.
The heat has been off Canaries boss Chris Hughton a little bit for a couple of weeks now, but a defeat by the bottom side might put it back on him.
Sunderland essentially have to win these kind of games if they are going to have a chance of staying up.
Lawro's prediction: 2-1
Merson
This game is like a cup final. It's a big game for Norwich, but it's 100 times more important for Sunderland because they have to win. They had to play extra time in midweek, but they came through that and rode their luck so fair play to them. There looks to be a good team spirit there and I've seen enough from them in that game to suggest they will be good enough to win this important match. I really fancy them.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1
What the Phallus says
We could do with a comfortable win and a clean sheet, Norwich offers the first chance in a while to put in a reassuring, calming, home performance in the league to help steady our form and get 3 much needed points on the board. 2-0
Last 4 Meetings
[table="width: 500, class: grid, align: center"]
[tr]
[td]Season[/td]
[td]Date[/td]
[td]Home[/td]
[td]Score[/td]
[td]Away[/td]
[td]Competition[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]2012/2013[/td]
[td]Sun 17 Mar[/td]
[td]Sunderland[/td]
[td]1-1[/td]
[td]Norwich[/td]
[td]Premier League[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td][/td]
[td]Sun 02 Dec[/td]
[td]Norwich[/td]
[td]2-1[/td]
[td]Sunderland[/td]
[td]Premier League[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]2011/2012[/td]
[td]Wed 01 Feb[/td]
[td]Sunderland[/td]
[td]3-0[/td]
[td]Norwich[/td]
[td]Premier League[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td][/td]
[td]Mon 26 Sep[/td]
[td]Norwich[/td]
[td]2-1[/td]
[td]Sunderland[/td]
[td]Premier League[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
Stats n Facts[tr]
[td]Season[/td]
[td]Date[/td]
[td]Home[/td]
[td]Score[/td]
[td]Away[/td]
[td]Competition[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]2012/2013[/td]
[td]Sun 17 Mar[/td]
[td]Sunderland[/td]
[td]1-1[/td]
[td]Norwich[/td]
[td]Premier League[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td][/td]
[td]Sun 02 Dec[/td]
[td]Norwich[/td]
[td]2-1[/td]
[td]Sunderland[/td]
[td]Premier League[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]2011/2012[/td]
[td]Wed 01 Feb[/td]
[td]Sunderland[/td]
[td]3-0[/td]
[td]Norwich[/td]
[td]Premier League[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td][/td]
[td]Mon 26 Sep[/td]
[td]Norwich[/td]
[td]2-1[/td]
[td]Sunderland[/td]
[td]Premier League[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
- There have been fewer than 3 goals in 7 of Sunderland’s last 11 home matches against middle-third clubs.
- The Black Cats have lost just once in their last 15 home matches to middle-third clubs, winning 6 and drawing 8.
- Norwich have conceded more goals on the road than any other club in the league this season (21).
- Craig Gardner scored in both Premier League meetings with Norwich City last season.
- None of the last 11 league meetings between Norwich and Sunderland have ended as an away win (9 home wins, 2 draws).
Betting
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Live match stream
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Click here for links to a choice of match streams
TEAMS
SUNDERLAND
Mannone, Celustka, Bardsley, Brown, O'Shea (C), Cattermole, Ki, Larsson, Borini, Giaccherini, Altidore.
Subs: Dossena, Gardner, Fletcher, Johnson, Colback, Roberge, Pickford.
NORWICH
Ruddy; Whittaker, Turner, Bassong, Olsson; Snodgrass, Fer, Johnson, Redmond; Elmander, Hooper.
Subs: Bunn (GK), van Wolfswinkel, Hoolahan, Garrido, Becchio, R Bennett, Josh Murphy.
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