Watford handed transfer blow on eve of Sunderland clash

Sunderland welcome Watford in the Championship tomorrow, where Tony Mowbray's side will look to cement their spot in the top six.

Sunderland currently sit in 6th place of the table and go into this game in fine form, having won three of their last four and having not lost in any of their last seven games.

They face a Watford side who've dropped out of the top half of the table after a tough run of late, with the Hornets having won just one of their last seven in the Championship.

Sunderland will fancy their chances tomorrow, and they might be buoyed by the news that Watford's star striker Joao Pedro is on his way to Brighton & Hove Albion in a £30million deal.

Fabrizio Romano revealed on Twitter last night that the Seagulls had agreed personal terms with the 21-year-old, and this morning, Romano revealed that Brighton were set to fork out £30million for Pedro, who's scored 11 and assisted four in the Championship this season.

Chris Wilder has been critical of his Watford players in recent weeks and now it remains to be seen whether or not Pedro will play a part in Watford's final games of the season.

He clearly seems to be on his way out of the club and with Watford all but out of the race for the top six, Wilder might prefer to give a younger player, or a periphery player a run out v Sunderland tomorrow.

And if that's the case, it'll come as a huge boost to Sunderland's chances of a win and to their chances of a top six finish this season.

Tomorrow's game kicks off at 3pm, though the Black Cat will have an eye on Millwall's game v Blackpool tonight, with a win for the Lions able to see them move into the top six at the expense of Sunderland.

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