Sunderland travel to Plymouth Argyle in the SkyBet League One.
Last time out Sunderland lost to Blackpool and Plymouth lost to Oxford.
Sunderland dropped to 4th place behind Lincoln as they extended their winless run to seven games. The Black Cats will have to battle it out in the play-offs, but will need to secure their place with two games remaining.
A win at Home Park will guarantee a finishing position in the top six, although Sunderland could lose and still cement a place in the play-offs depending on what happens in the games involving Portsmouth, Oxford United and Charlton Athletic.
More bad news for the Black Cats as Lee Johnson announced that Jordan Willis has undergone another operation after a set back to his recent surgery and will miss most of next season.
Connor McLaughlin is in contention for a place in the squad this weekend, while Flanagan should step up his work on the training ground before the end of the week.
A couple of players suffered knocks during the defeat to Blackpool, and Johnson admits that their situation is causing him a headache when it comes to his team selection for the Plymouth game.
Plymouth are also on a torrid run of results with 9 defeats in 15 games, but they have already secured their place in League One for next season.
Lee Johnson:
“I understand the supporters’ anxieties, but all I can do is try to give off really positive vibes, which I fully believe in because I can’t be fake about it going into the play-offs. That’s the hard part at the moment – I can’t quite give the message that I want to because that part’s not guaranteed yet.”
“The big rallying call can come after we secure that place, I don’t care who we play in the semi-final, but I fancy us. If we’re right, rested, prepared and focused, I’d fancy us over two legs against anybody in the division. That might sound a bit bullish. I’m sure that’s what the Sunderland fans would like to hear, but I also fully believe it.”
"I am very confident that if we secure the play-offs and have the time to rest and work, we will come out of the traps like a greyhound"
"I'm very confident about that. It gives us the ability to get back round pegs in round holes with the players we've got injured and coming back.”
"Then the challenge is to try and get those guys at their peak performance having had a few weeks out. I'm talking about the likes of (Tom) Flanagan, (Conor) McLaughlin and (Jake) Vokins.”
"To have those options will then create options in midfield as well that we currently haven't got. I'm very positive about the play-offs but there's no doubt that there's concern about our short term form and I'd be lying if I said that I was happy."
Ryan Lowe:
“I was pleased with the lads, I thought we had a reaction (from the 6-0 defeat by Charlton Athletic). We played some good stuff in the first half. We have got to have that killer instinct like Matty Taylor has got. When you are getting those chances you have got to put them away.”
“Yeah, we are hurting, we don't want to lose any game, but our main aim was to stay in the division for next season and we have done that."
Match Appointments:
Referee: JAMES BELL
Assistant Referees: Ravel Cheosiaua and Richard Morris
Fourth Official: Paul Howard
Team Line ups
Sunderland: Burge; O’Nien, Wright, Hume; Power, Scowen, Neil, Hawkes; Jones, Diamond, Wyke.
Subs: Matthews, Younger, Gooch, O’Brien, Leadbitter, Maguire, Stewart
Injured: Xhemajli, Willis, Flanagan, McLaughlin, Vokins, Sanderson
Plymouth: (4-4-2) Cooper, Edwards, Woods, Opoku, Law, Moore, Pereira Camará, Fornah, Mayor, Jephcott, Ennis
Subs: Watts, Hardie, Reeves, MacLeod, Lolos, McCormick, Tomlinson
Injured: tbc
Betting Odds:
Sunderland 4/6 Plymouth 18/5 Draw 14/5
Run-In:
My two pence:
Another defeat leaves us clinging onto 4th place, but we probably only need another point to secure a place in the playoffs. However, 3 points and a solid performance here would help to ease a lot of anxiety and build up some confidence.
I’m going for a 0-2 away win
Live stream £10
https://www.safc.com/news/team-news/live-video
Due to the EFL-wide social media blackout taking place over the weekend as we unite in the fight against online discrimination, there will be no social media updates for the fixture on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
Ha’way the Lads
You must log in or register to see images
Last time out Sunderland lost to Blackpool and Plymouth lost to Oxford.
Sunderland dropped to 4th place behind Lincoln as they extended their winless run to seven games. The Black Cats will have to battle it out in the play-offs, but will need to secure their place with two games remaining.
A win at Home Park will guarantee a finishing position in the top six, although Sunderland could lose and still cement a place in the play-offs depending on what happens in the games involving Portsmouth, Oxford United and Charlton Athletic.
More bad news for the Black Cats as Lee Johnson announced that Jordan Willis has undergone another operation after a set back to his recent surgery and will miss most of next season.
Connor McLaughlin is in contention for a place in the squad this weekend, while Flanagan should step up his work on the training ground before the end of the week.
A couple of players suffered knocks during the defeat to Blackpool, and Johnson admits that their situation is causing him a headache when it comes to his team selection for the Plymouth game.
Plymouth are also on a torrid run of results with 9 defeats in 15 games, but they have already secured their place in League One for next season.
Lee Johnson:
“I understand the supporters’ anxieties, but all I can do is try to give off really positive vibes, which I fully believe in because I can’t be fake about it going into the play-offs. That’s the hard part at the moment – I can’t quite give the message that I want to because that part’s not guaranteed yet.”
“The big rallying call can come after we secure that place, I don’t care who we play in the semi-final, but I fancy us. If we’re right, rested, prepared and focused, I’d fancy us over two legs against anybody in the division. That might sound a bit bullish. I’m sure that’s what the Sunderland fans would like to hear, but I also fully believe it.”
"I am very confident that if we secure the play-offs and have the time to rest and work, we will come out of the traps like a greyhound"
"I'm very confident about that. It gives us the ability to get back round pegs in round holes with the players we've got injured and coming back.”
"Then the challenge is to try and get those guys at their peak performance having had a few weeks out. I'm talking about the likes of (Tom) Flanagan, (Conor) McLaughlin and (Jake) Vokins.”
"To have those options will then create options in midfield as well that we currently haven't got. I'm very positive about the play-offs but there's no doubt that there's concern about our short term form and I'd be lying if I said that I was happy."
Ryan Lowe:
“I was pleased with the lads, I thought we had a reaction (from the 6-0 defeat by Charlton Athletic). We played some good stuff in the first half. We have got to have that killer instinct like Matty Taylor has got. When you are getting those chances you have got to put them away.”
“Yeah, we are hurting, we don't want to lose any game, but our main aim was to stay in the division for next season and we have done that."
You must log in or register to see images
Match Appointments:
Referee: JAMES BELL
Assistant Referees: Ravel Cheosiaua and Richard Morris
Fourth Official: Paul Howard
You must log in or register to see images
Team Line ups
Sunderland: Burge; O’Nien, Wright, Hume; Power, Scowen, Neil, Hawkes; Jones, Diamond, Wyke.
You must log in or register to see images
Subs: Matthews, Younger, Gooch, O’Brien, Leadbitter, Maguire, Stewart
Injured: Xhemajli, Willis, Flanagan, McLaughlin, Vokins, Sanderson
Plymouth: (4-4-2) Cooper, Edwards, Woods, Opoku, Law, Moore, Pereira Camará, Fornah, Mayor, Jephcott, Ennis
Subs: Watts, Hardie, Reeves, MacLeod, Lolos, McCormick, Tomlinson
Injured: tbc
Betting Odds:
Sunderland 4/6 Plymouth 18/5 Draw 14/5
Run-In:
You must log in or register to see images
My two pence:
Another defeat leaves us clinging onto 4th place, but we probably only need another point to secure a place in the playoffs. However, 3 points and a solid performance here would help to ease a lot of anxiety and build up some confidence.
I’m going for a 0-2 away win
Live stream £10
https://www.safc.com/news/team-news/live-video
Due to the EFL-wide social media blackout taking place over the weekend as we unite in the fight against online discrimination, there will be no social media updates for the fixture on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
Ha’way the Lads
Attachments
Last edited:
