Match Day Thread Sunderland v Doncaster Rovers - Friday 24th January - KO 19:45

Sunderland v Doncaster Rovers – Skybet League One

Last time out Sunderland beat MK Dons and Doncaster lost to Coventry
Sunderland host Doncaster Rovers at the Stadium of Light on Friday evening, the game being shown live on Sky TV.
The Black Cats will be looking to make it 4 wins on the bounce and increase the pressure on the top 5.
Kyle Lafferty has trained this week and will be included in the squad, Flanagan could replace Joel Lynch after recovering from injury, and new signing Bailey Wright could take his place on the bench.
Doncaster are in good form too, having won four of their last 6 games.
Doncaster have played 122 different clubs in the league, with Sunderland the only side they have never pick up a point against (five games, five losses).
Phil Parkinson:
“I’m very pleased, it was a big win for us today, MK Dons have had some good results at home and we knew this would be a difficult game"
"The second half we really raised our game and really took the game to them"
"A real moment of quality has got us the lead and we go back up the motorway with 3 deserved points in the bag"
"I thought today was all about the team, it was a team performance and the back 3 concentrated really well"
"It was fantastic for us to have our away support today and I can feel they are starting to believe, you could sense it before the game and they got right behind the lads"
Darren Moore:
“I think he’s broken his nose, I think from the incident, it looked bad. He’ll survive."
When asked if Sadlier would be available to face Sunderland on Friday, Moore said:
“Hopefully, we’ll see. We’ll have a look at him over the next few days and see where he is.”
“It’s a fantastic arena to go and play, its different going there for an evening game compared to a Saturday afternoon.
“It’s another hurdle that we know will be difficult but one that we have to be looking to overcome and try to win the game.
“The group of players we select will have to be on top of their game to get a result up there but that is something they are thriving on.”


Prutton predicts: 2-1
Match Appointments:
Referee: JAMES ADCOCK
Assistant Referees: Alan Clayton and Chris Isherwood
Fourth Official: Michael Salisbury

Team Line ups
Sunderland: McLaughlin, O’Nien, Flanagan, Ozturk, Willis, Hume, Power, Dobson, Gooch, Maguire, Wyke

You must log in or register to see images

Subs: Burge, McLaughlin, Wright, Robson, Watmore, McNulty, Lafferty
Injured: Embleton
Garden Leave: McGeady

Doncaster Rovers Dieng, Halliday, James, Wright, Anderson, Sheaf, Taylor, Whiteman, Coppinger, Bingham, Ennis
Subs: Lawlor, Amos, John, Blair, Gomes, Watters
Injured: Sadlier

Betting Odds:
Home 19/20 Away 14/5 Draw 23/10

My two pence:
Having beaten Doncaster away just before New Year we need to carry on our winning run to put pressure on the teams above us.
My guess is a 2-0 home win.

Ha’way the Lads

Parky's Presser:

"I am very pleased to have Bailey. He is a very experienced Championship player. I had to be patient with the deal but he is a very good addition to the squad."
"I don’t really want to lose anybody. We have got good competition for places, especially at the top end of the pitch. Kyle is getting fitter all the time and he only adds to what we have."
"Picking the same team for the last few weeks has helped with the cohesion of the squad. The physicality and fitness levels of the squad have gone up. That showed against MK Dons last weekend when we got a late goal."
"The spirit in the group is good. We have a really determined young squad and things are growing nicely."
"The objective tomorrow night is to put in another performance like we have done at home recently. The focus is on us to produce a good performance and if we can get the elements right we have a good chance of that."
"The table is very tight, and a lot of teams will fancy their chances. It’s all to play for. We have got to focus on ourselves, and if we do that we have a good chance of getting where we want to be."