Sunderland has five losses and a draw so far this term and the team is currently on a three-game losing slide. With their recent struggles, the Black Cats are now at the bottommost spot of the English top flight table with fellow winless side Stoke City just a point above them in the bottom three relegation zone.
Head coach David Moyes' team dropped a sorry 2-3 loss to streaking squad Crystal Palace also at their home stadium last Saturday for their third straight loss, as per Chronicle Live.
The Black Cats started the game strongly as they gained a one-point advantage at the halftime interval after striker Jermain Defoe netted the opening goal at the 39th. They even made it a 2-0 count as Defoe scored his second goal of the game right at the hour mark from a pass back by midfielder Duncan Watmore.
However, Sunderland's defense suddenly became butter in the late minutes as they allowed three straight goals from the Eagles in the last half hour of the contest, courtesy of goals from Joe Ledley, James McArthur, and Christian Benteke at the 61st, 76th, and in injury time to drop a highly-disappointing match.
Meanwhile, West Bromwich Albion earned a second consecutive unbeaten performance with a 1-1 draw against Stoke City on the road at the Bet365 Stadium also last Saturday, SkySports reported.
After a goalless first half, Potters midfielder Joe Allen netted the opener at the 73rd minute, but Venezuelan striker Salomon Rondon was able to find the equalizer in stoppage time to salvage the draw for head coach Tony Pulis' side.
The Baggies are now at 10th place in the overall standings as they are tied on points with Southampton.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a 1-0 decision for West Bromwich Albion.
Sunderland starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Pickford; Manquillo, Koné, Djilobodji, van Aanholt; Ndong, Kirchhoff, Cattermole; Januzaj, Defoe, Pienaar
West Bromwich Albion starting lineup (4-1-4-1 formation): Foster; Dawson, McAuley, Evans, Nyom; Yacob; Phillips, Fletcher, Chadli, McClean; Rondon
Head To Head
West Brom have won two, drawn three, and lost one of their last six meetings with Sunderland.
Stats
Both teams have scored in 63% of Sunderland's matches this season and in 57% of West Brom's.
Team News
Stephen Pienaar is a doubt with a hamstring injury, and Adnan Januzaj is out until November too. Fabio Borini and Vite Mannone will remain out until December, with Seb Larsson not back until February.
West Brom are hoping that Saido Berahino and Brendan Galloway recover from a virus in time to play on Saturday.
