Preview: Sunderland vs. Burnley - prediction, team news, lineups

Vincent Kompany's men had a more successful time on their travels in the week, but will be keen to return to winning ways after being held by Birmingham City.

Match preview

Ewood Park and a high-flying Blackburn Rovers side was the downfall of Tony Mowbray's team on Tuesday night, as goals from Ben Brereton Diaz and Scott Wharton condemned the Black Cats to a second loss in three games.

After a positive start to the campaign that saw them in the playoffs, one win in the last six has dampened the mood in the North-East and lowered any expectations of the club achieving a remarkable but unlikely double promotion after winning the League One playoffs last year.

Sunderland will take confidence from their home record heading into this fixture against the Clarets this weekend, as they have only lost once on home soil in seven matches so far this campaign.

It has to be said that the majority of those fixtures have ended in stalemates, so the next step for Mowbray is to convert those draws into wins and more precious points in an extremely competitive Championship season.

Going into the midweek collection of fixtures as league leaders, Burnley have dropped to third in the second tier after being stifled and breached late on in a 1-1 draw at Birmingham City on Wednesday night.

For a fourth away game in the last five, Kompany's men have taken a lead before squandering it in the closing stages, a bad habit that if eliminated could see Burnley cruise towards promotion to the Premier League this season.

Despite a disappointing result at St Andrew's, the Clarets were able to extend their unbeaten run in the Championship to 12 games and only sit a point off table-toppers Queens Park Rangers going into the weekend.

Burnley will have to break past trends to earn all three points at the Stadium of Light, with the last two games between the sides in Sunderland ending goalless, a result that would frustrate Kompany and no doubt the travelling fans.

Sunderland Championship form:

D

D

D

L

W

L

Burnley Championship form:

W

D

D

W

W

D

Team News

Sunderland's Aji Alese is a doubt for Saturday after sustaining a painful kick in his team's defeat at Blackburn on Tuesday, with Mowbray unsure whether the defender will be fit to face the Clarets.

Lynden Gooch is also a doubt after missing the Blackburn game with a foot injury and according to Mowbray the player is "struggling to walk without limping" after a knock picked up against Wigan Athletic.

Defensive duo Ian Maatsen and Jordan Beyer were surprise omissions from the squad that travelled to Birmingham but Kompany is hopeful of having both back for the trip to Sunderland.

Full-back Maatsen got a cut in training so was unavailable for selection whereas central defender Beyer was left out as a precaution after feeling tightness in his legs leading up the Birmingham clash.

Scott Twine, Darko Churlinov and Ashley Westwood remain sidelined for this weekend, with Johann Berg Gudmundsson pushing for a start after a long-range goal off the bench last time out.

Sunderland possible starting lineup:

Patterson; O'Nien, Batth, Hume; Neil, Embleton, Evans, Cirkin; Amad, Clarke, Roberts

Burnley possible starting lineup:

Muric; Vitinho, Harwood-Bellis, Beyer, Maatsen; Gudmundsson, Cullen, Tella, Brownhill, Zaroury; Rodriguez

We say: Sunderland 0-1 Burnley

Burnley are only small margins away from running clear of their promotion rivals in the Championship this season.

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