Birmingham City vs Sunderland preview: Team News, Last Meeting, Recent Form, Referee and Opposition View
Sunderland head to the West Midlands this week to face Birmingham City, who currently occupy 10th place in the Championship. The game, which is on Remembrance Day, is being shown live on Sky Sports, with an 8pm kick-off.
Last time out, Sunderland lost at home to Cardiff City 1-0, while Birmingham City secured a 2-2 draw with Swansea on Tuesday night.
This is the last opportunity for both sides to gain some points before the break for the 2022 World Cup.
Before the game, there will be a Remembrance Service on the pitch to remember those who have lost their lives, serving their country.
Tony Mowbray will see this game as an opportunity for his team to bounce back before the International break.
Mowbray said: “What I know is that it is tough to win back-to-back games in this league unless you have a top team.
“We have a team that played in a different league last year. This club was in the Premier League for years and then League One, so that comes into it, but I know it is 2007 since this team won back-to-back in the Championship. We are striving to do that.
“We are having a very good 45 minutes, either at the beginning or the end. We need to strive to get those performances for the full game."
Team News
Harlee Dean could be out for Birmingham, while Krystian Bielik will be pushing for a recall after serving a one match suspension for accumulating five yellow cards.
Przemyslaw Placheta (Shin), Marc Roberts (Hamstring) remain out until after the World Cup break.
Luke O’Nien will be missing for Sunderland after he picked up a fifth yellow card against Cardiff.
Alex Pritchard and Corry Evans will be pushing for recalls after starting on the bench on Saturday.
Niall Huggins is back training with the first team, but Sunderland are managing his return carefully and so he is unlikely to feature.
Lynden Gooch (foot), Dan Ballard (foot), Aji Alese (ankle), Ross Stewart (thigh) and Edouard Michut (muscle strain) are still missing, but are expected back after the World Cup break.
Last Meeting
The two sides last played each other in the Championship in January 2018, where Birmingham City prevailed 3-1, with the Sunderland goal being scored by Bryan Oviedo.
Sunderland team: Ruiter, Browning, Clarke-Salter, Kone, Matthews, Oviedo, Cattermole, Honeyman, Robson, Asoro, Maja
Recent Form
Birmingham: LWDWD
Sunderland: LLDWL
Head-to-head (Last 10 Matches)
Birmingham: 3
Draws: 3
Sunderland: 4
Referee: Andrew Madley
Andrew Madley will take charge of this one. He has refereed 32 games over the last 12 months and has issued 70 yellow cards.
Madley last took charge of Sunderland when they met Charlton in May 2019, in the League One Play-off Final. No one will need reminding of the result there. Let's hope it's not a bad omen.
He will be assisted by Natalie Aspinall and Daniel Leach, with Sunny Gill acting as the fourth official.
Opposition View
John Eustace has hit out at his side's fixture schedule knowing Sunderland had no midweek game and have had more time to prepare.
Eustace said: “The schedule of the league is really tough.
“It’s not right – we play too many games in a short period of time. To go again on Friday now, with Sunderland not playing this week, it’s poor.
“But the group of players who we pick on Friday will be determined, they’ll be 100 percent ready, and we’ll see where that takes us.
“We need to be competitive; we need to be hard to play against.
“There are going to be some tired bodies, for sure, but they will be ready, and we want to put on another fighting performance. Win, lose, or draw, everyone can see that we’re committed and that we go to the end and that’s what I expect again on Friday.”