Last time out Sunderland beat Carlisle and Swindon lost to Wimbledon. Sunderland visit the County Ground to face Swindon Town in Skybet League One. The Black Cats will be without defender Arby Xhemajli for the rest of the season after he suffered a serious knee injury while on international duty. George Dobson is back in contention and Benji Kimpioka is expected to get a chance from the bench having scored 4 goals in 2 games for the U23s. Tom Flanagan is suspended for one game. Swindon have won 2 and lost 3 and sit in 15th position in the table, having beaten Rochdale and Burton at the County Ground. The Robins signed Brett Pitman from Portsmouth during the summer but the striker suffered a groin injury on Saturday and is unavailable. Phil Parkinson: “Look North - can you shut the f*** up” “The under-23 players who did well in the Newcastle win have done some first-team training with us and I think that cross-over is really important. We want the players in that group to push into the first-team squad, so if they train well while with us they have a chance to stay there. “Unfortunately, Arby suffered a very serious knee injury whilst he was away with Kosovo. He will be out for the remainder of the season and it’s a real shame for him because he had settled into the club well.” “We feel for him, but we will give him all the support he needs to get through it, from the medical team and the staff to the players.” "It doesn't look too serious, but he's a doubt (Denver Hume) and it leaves a gap for us defensively" Richie Wellens: “I think I’ve proved my loyalty to Swindon in the past, so I don’t think I need to prove any kind of loyalty.” “Salford is a football club that’s owned by a group of people that I watched growing up as a Manchester United fan. They back their managers unbelievably, and whoever goes into that position will have an opportunity to do well because they will be given the finances and backing to be successful.” “So I don’t think my loyalty to this club should ever be put into question.” Prutton predicts: meh Match Appointments: Referee: BEN TONER Assistant Referees: Conor Farrell and Michael Begley Fourth Official: David Rock Team Line ups Sunderland: Burge, O’Nien, McLaughlin, Willis, Wright, Hume, Power, Leadbitter, Maguire, Gooch, Graham Subs: Matthews, Scowen, O’Brien, Dobson, Grigg, Diamond, Kimpioka Injured: McGeady, Feeney, Xhemajli Doubtful: Embleton, Hume Suspended: Flanagan Swindon Town: Kovar, Stevens, Baudry(c), Grounds, Donohue, Grant, M Smith, Jaiyesimi, Payne, J Smith, Odimayo Subs: T Smith, Grant, Palmer, Hunt, Fryer, Hope Injured: Conroy, Pitman Betting Odds: Home 11/4 Away 11/10 Draw 5/2 My two pence: After a close game against Carlisle, I expect Parky to revert to the same line-up that he used against Charlton give or take a few enforced changes. Hopefully Parky keeps to his word and gives Kimpioka, Diamond or Neil a chance. I’m going for a 3-1 away win. Live stream £10 https://www.safc.com/news/team-news/live-video Ha’way the Lads
Flanagan suspended and Hume a doubt. I think the team will be: Burge Willis Wright McLaughlin O'Nien Leadbitter Power Gooch Maguire O'Brien Graham To be clear that's not what I want it to be, but what I think it will be.
Cheers - I thought Flanagan was OK to play - but yeah the EFL Trophy does not count so he is suspended for this game.
Swindon are in the middle of an injury crisis. All their first choice back four is out apparently and they confirmed today Pitman is out for a month leaving them with one recognised striker
not sure if i want a commanding performance and worry about injuries later, or a more 'steady eddie' performance trying to protect our back line... right now we are hardly scoring ****loads but our defence has been tight, once again no time for cat and mouse, get out and get that first goal then settle down.
Shouldn’t be replying to this post (class as it is, -as always) coz it always rebounds on me Aw b::gger it - we’ve got problems, but they, it seems have more. So once again the positive side is bubbling up. 0 - 2 to ‘The Lads’. KTF
Scowen left out, shame on you RTB, seriously though we are a bit overloaded in some areas and short in others due to suspensions and injuries so although a bit makeshift we should have enough to win this one. I personally would go to a back four myself if Hume is out, with an extra man in midfield (Scowen for me) but that is probably asking a bit much of PP., so something along the lines that you have indicated should still come home with the bacon.
Swindon seem to start quickly at home which we need to be mindful of. Having said that they've only beaten Burton, who'll go down, and Rochdale but have lost the last 3. Graham should've settled in now so I'm going for two of his goals in a 2-1 win.
just hope we can pull a win off, and even let Diamond inject a bit of pace with gooch, one day in my lifetime we may see a manager at this level pick a team and tactics for a win
Hmm an honours side bet on Graham scoring 2 ( or 1 ) goal. I reckon one of our problems is scoring goals, Maguire and other midfielders are more likely to score. If the defence ( and the keeper) can keep a clean sheet, we could nick a 0-1...
Yeah - I had him in the starting eleven this morning with Power and Leadbitter but I changed the formation and somehow he got missed out. He's more likely to be on the bench than Taylor.
Just seen this about the Referee: Ben Toner has been involved in three League games in the EFL this season, showing a total of 15 yellow cards and one red card. The last time Toner refereed Town at the County Ground was in a 2-2 draw with Lincoln back in January 2019, where two Lincoln players were given their marching orders by the man in the middle.
having trouble getting sorted out from Kenya changed the vpn to uk but still no go for the stream will have to rely on clocky gill comfy rtb and roochy for updates and anyone else who will contribute, internet is crap here at the moment.
