Sunderland vs Millwall preview: Team News, Last Meeting, Recent Form, Referee and Predicted lineup
Sunderland return to action against Millwall this weekend since the mid-season break in the EFL, due to the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
The Black Cats currently sit in 15th place after 20 matches and welcome a Millwall side who currently occupy sixth place.
A win for the Northeast side would see them move up to 10th spot and a point off the play-off places.
The match is being shown and broadcast live on Sky Sports with a 12:30pm kick-off.
The Wearsiders recently enjoyed a week-long warm weather camp in Dubai where they faced Saudi Arabian side Al-Shabab in a friendly match. The Black Cats prevailed 1-0 after a first half goal from Manchester United loanee Amad Diallo.
With key first-team players starting to return from injury, Tony Mowbray will hope his side can kickstart the second half of their season with a win to push themselves further up the table and away from a relegation battle.
Ahead of the game against Millwall on Saturday, Mowbray is expecting a tough game against a club who have a good identity.
Mowbray said:
“We are respectful of them. I think they are in the top six now. Gary Rowett has been around a long time. I think he is a very good football manager. He knows the game. He looks at his players and he knows how we want to play."
Team News:
Luke O’Nien is available again after serving a one game suspension for accumulating five yellow cards.
Aji Alese, Lynden Gooch, Dennis Cirkin and Ellis Simms are all back to full fitness and will be pushing for starts on Saturday.
Ross Stewart and Daniel Ballard took part in some training sessions during the warm weather camp, although this game could have come too soon for them both.
Bailey Wright (Australia) is still involved in World Cup action, while Jewison Bennette (Costa Rica) won't be home in time to feature following their elimination.
Benik Afobe (Knee), Ryan Leonard (Muscle) and Tyler Burey (ill) will all be missing for the Lions this weekend.
Last Meeting
The two sides last played each other in the Championship in March 2018, where the teams cancelled out each other in a 1-1 draw - the Sunderland goal was scored by Bryan Oviedo.
Sunderland team: Steele, Browning, Kone, Matthews, O’Shea, Oviedo, Cattermole, Ejaria, McGeady, McManaman, Fletcher
Recent Form
Sunderland: LDWLW
Millwall: WLDDW
Head-to-head (Last 10 matches)
Sunderland: 3
Draws: 2
Millwall: 5
Referee
Tim Robinson will take charge of this match and has refereed 36 matches over the last 12 months, issuing 120 yellow cards.
Robinson last took charge of Sunderland when Burnley were the visitors at the Stadium of Light; a game which finished 4-2 to the Clarets.
He will be assisted by Andrew Fox and Ian Cooper, with Jeremy Simpson acting as the fourth official.
Sunderland predicted lineup
Tony Mowbray has plenty of options for once, although he has hinted that he will resist the temptation to start Ross Stewart in this one.
Predicted Sunderland starting XI (4-2-3-1): Patterson; Gooch, O'Nien, Batth, Cirkin; Evans, Ba; Amad, Pritchard, Clarke, Simms
Opposition View
Gary Rowett will see the game against Sunderland as a chance to move further up the table; but also acknowledges his team sitting in sixth place won’t mean anything come the end of the season unless they hit their targets.
“Having been in the Championship for a long time, I don’t think you can pick where you are at what point or what is your ideal scenario," Rowett said.
“You’ve got to keep chalking up wins and chalking up the points.
“It’s all very nice that we’re sat in sixth place but if you bounce out, then you’re chasing it – that's fine as long as you’re not too far off the action and can still get consistency.
“Then it’s just whether we can take that last step.”