Sunderland vs Hull City
England Premier League.
Date: Saturday, 19th November 2016,
Kick-off at 15:00 UK.
Venue: Stadium of Light, Sunderland.
It was a satisfying week for two teams on the brink of relegation. Both Sunderland and Hull City resisted dominating possession by their opponents to win rare games in an othewrwise dismal 2016-17 season. Now they both face off each other at The Stadium of Light on Saturday in an effort to salvage their positions from the bottom of the table.
Sunderland, despite their stunning away win of 1-2 over Bournemouth at Dean Court still find themselves at the bottom of the table with just 5 points. But David Moyes pressing game strategy that paid off well at Dean Court could work well against Hull on Saturday. The Hull defence that had been completely ineffective in the Premier League so far (having conceded the most number of goals,24) showed a lot of spunk in their impressive win against a top-half team like Southampton (placed 10th on the table now). Defenders Michael Dawson and Curtis Davies will need to show the same kind of enterprise and grit at the Stadium of Light as they did in their surprise 2-1 win over Southampton.
Sunderland vs Hull Predictions
David Moyes will miss the services of Steven Pienaar in the midfield having being sent off in the match against Bournemouth. Adnan Januzaj the 21-year old Belgian winger recovering from an injury could make a comeback on Saturday. Billy Jones will have to replicate the good work he did against Bournemouth at the back. As for the scoring, Robert Snodgrass (5 out of his team’s 9 goals) and Jermain Defoe (7 out of 9) will be the mainstays of Sunderland and Hull respectively.There is a strong probability the Black Cats will find the back of the net at least once through Defoe on Saturday.
Hull City are just two places above their hosts on the EPL table at the 18th spot but 5 points ahead with 10. David Moyes will desperately try to close this gap at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. History is in favour of Hull City having won 4 of their previous 5 encounters with Sunderland. But bookmakers feel confident about the sudden resurgence of the host team and coupled with the home advantage they have felt inclined to lay their bets on a Sunderland win on November 19Predicted line-ups
Victor Anichebe is likely to start after an impressive performance against Bournemouth. Adnan Januzaj could make his return to the starting eleven to replace Steven Pienaar, with the South African suspended for this weekend. Duncan Watmore will also play after doing well for the England U21s during the international break.
Predicted line-ups
Dieumerci Mbokani will start after injuries to both Will Keane and Abel Hernandez. Robert Snodgrass is set to start this weekend, which is a huge boost for Mike Phelan. The rest of the team is likely to remain the same.
Injuries/suspensions
Vito Mannone is closing in on a return, but Jordan Pickford won’t relinquish the number one jersey without a fight. Fabio Borini, Lee Cattermole, Jan Kirchhoff and Jack Rodwell could all be involved after recovering from various injuries during the international break. Steven Pienaar will be missing through suspension.
Abel Hernandez and Will Keane will be missing after picking up injuries in the match against Southampton. Andy Robertson and Alex Bruce are still weeks away from a return, while Moses Odubajo won’t be back until 2017.
