WATFORD v SUNDERLAND Vicarage Road Stadium Saturday 17th September 2022 Kick Off : 1500 BST Sunderland make the trip to face Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon looking to further strengthen their position in the Championship playoff places. Although Watford are only one point adrift of the Black Cats, Rob Edwards is under pressure to turn around a sharp drop off in form since the start of the campaign. As it stands, they sit two points adrift of third spot, although the manner of the 2-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers is the biggest cause of concern right now. While facing an in-form Sunderland side has arguably come at the wrong time, it is also a match which could ensure that Watford raise their game. Some will argue that describing Sunderland as in form is an exaggeration with the Black Cats yet to record successive wins since their return to the second tier. However, Tony Mowbray has two wins from three games to his name, each of them coming by 3-0 scorelines against Rotherham United and Reading respectively. Watford Team News Ismaïla Sarr and Kortney Hause both face fitness test today, Friday, but they’re fairly close,” noted Edwards. Full-back Hassane Kamara may be available to Edwards against the Black Cats, and is in training after a muscle strain. Edwards is ‘hopeful’ of the defender’s return. Imrân Louza is back on the grass and training with the first-team following knee surgery at the end of last season, with fellow midfielder Tom Cleverley having a similar time-frame on his return from a tendon injury Our Officials. JOHN BUSBY please log in to view this image Mark Russell and Robert Smith Fourth Official : Andy Woolmer
Ngakia out is directly due to being out a long time and being pushed into a starting position rather than eased in and build up his match fitness through sub appearances.
Yes and if Kamara isn’t fit we will probably have 2 wingbacks who aren’t natural ones against a Sunderland side who play with wingers .
Lads to win 1-0 O'Nien to score, reason being, I just checked my air fryer and the time display read 09. It's an omen without a doubt.
Is that not just the number of keepie uppies he can manage these days? I heard he had gone downhill a bit since leaving us...
It was just some chips. I meant to post on the match thread in the Sunderland forum, lol....I hadn't even had anything to drink when I posted it earlier. It's got to be another omen.
Is it time for us to post highlights of a certain win in the 1980s? Actually, I’m not in the slightest upbeat about this. We have, imho, the best squad in the division by far, they work hard, and I’m sure we’ll lose. All is not well in the state of Watford. Are you travelling down for this, Blyth?
Sarr and Pedro probably but not sure the rest are that much better than anyone else which is kind of the problem if we are expecting to romp to promotion. The rest of the team seem to be pretty average with good and bad days - mainly the latter for our defence and midfield in terms of attacking ability.
I'd like to think that your last point will change when Louza finally regains fitness after his operation. Sadly, though, he may have just enough time to impress for the January transfer window.
And World Cup. Edwards (or someone) said he would be back after the International break but not when exactly. I mean Cleverley was supposed to only have a minor knock. My worry is we rush players back who aren't fully fit too. Sarr seems to be fit for a game then injured and now Ngakia out for a while.
No mate, armchair viewing today, next one is Preston at home after the break. It'll be a tough game, I am delighted with the start we've had, especially since the Neil fiasco as well. Another performance like Wednesday night will do me. I actually used to run a business up here for a guy that was from Watford, his office is right next to vicarage Rd, used to go there for meetings and stop overnight, had some cracking nights out there.
Excuse my ignorance, but was it better salary that took Neil away? It seems to an outsider strange that Stoke can muster more money than Sunderland.
Apparently the Stoke owner and him are friends. As far as I know, Neil insisted on the rolling contract. He got a bonus for getting us up, was offered a longer term contract, Sunderland also offered to equal his wage at Stoke. Looks like it was in the making for a while. His wife is from Stoke apparently. Was a disappointment how it panned out, nobody is bigger than the club though, delighted to see the players have just cracked on. Was a fair few unhappy with the Mowbray appointment, however, I think he'll be a great fit. The club have a model now and appear to be rigidly sticking to it. I'd be happy to just consolidate our championship status, but as ever, it's always a roller-coaster ride at SAFC, so who knows.
Well good luck, anyway. Although I don’t think you’ll need it today. Sorry, fellow Hornets, just not feeling it today.
Us too. It’s horrible going through all the effort when you are expecting to lose, especially when you probably shouldn’t.
