In their bid to bounce back to the top of the League One table, Sunderland make the trip to take on Accrington Stanley on Saturday.
The Black Cats suffered a harmful 3-1 defeat at the hands of Lincoln City on Tuesday, while their hosts come into the game on the back of four consecutive matches without a loss.
Match preview
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After a relatively tough start to the League One season, Accrington Stanley have looked revitalised since late November, earning 14 points from their last seven outings in England's third tier.
That haul includes a four-game unbeaten run heading into Saturday, with John Coleman's men firstly following up a defeat to AFC Wimbledon with consecutive 1-0 wins over Bolton Wanderers and title-chasing Rotherham United.
While they were unable to add a third straight win in their clash with Shrewsbury Town, Stanley did make it three consecutive clean sheets in a goalless stalemate, before battling with 10 men to hold fifth-placed MK Dons to a 1-1 draw after Colby Bishop's early opener and Liam Coyle's first-half red card.
Having now climbed into the top half, trailing eighth-placed Portsmouth by just two points, Coleman's men will look to extend their impressive run of form on Saturday with another major scalp to further improve their position in the third tier.
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They welcome a Sunderland side desperate to get back to winning ways after back-to-back League One games without a victory.
Lee Johnson's side headed into the new year in fine form as they continuously held the top spot, and they were not derailed by a 5-1 cup thrashing at the hands of Arsenal, quickly bouncing back with 3-0 and 5-0 thrashings of Doncaster Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday respectively, taking their tally to 49 points from the opening 24 matches.
Ross Stewart helped himself to four goals in those two outings, and he looked set to have sealed a 3-2 win in the following trip to promotion rivals Wycombe Wanderers with his second of the game in the 92nd minute, only for Joe Jacobsen to snatch a point for the hosts in the dying embers.
That saw the Black Cats turn their attention to Lincoln City at the Stadium of Light, and, despite Stewart again getting on the scoresheet, former Sunderland winger Chris Maguire punished Johnson's men with a hat-trick to see them fall to a 3-1 defeat on home soil.
Following their sixth league defeat of the season, the visitors now sit behind league leaders Rotherham United on goal difference, having played two more games than the Millers, and Johnson will be desperate to see his side bounce back and boost their claim for top spot, albeit with the manager watching from afar after a red card in the defeat to Lincoln.
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Team News
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Accrington Stanley come into Saturday's game without midfielder Liam Coyle, who will serve a suspension after his red card last time out.
Meanwhile, Seamus Conneely, David Morgan and Joe Pritchard all remain doubts after missing out through injury issues last weekend.
Sunderland have a suspension of their own to deal with, after midfielder Carl Winchester was sent off in the first half of their clash with Lincoln.
The Black Cats also have an unenviable injury list, with the likes of Luke O'Nien, Nathan Broadhead, Niall Huggins and star winger Aiden McGeady all missing out, while Corry Evans will remain on the sidelines after he was helped off during the meeting with Wycombe.
Marksman Ross Stewart will lead the line with plenty of confidence, having netted seven goals in his last four league appearances to take his tally to 18 for the season in the third tier.
He has combined well with attacking midfielder Alex Pritchard, who has shone since arriving at the Stadium of Light, providing eight league assists so far this term.
Accrington Stanley possible starting lineup:
Savin; Clark, Sykes, Nottingham; O'Sullivan, Butcher, Pell, Hamilton; Leigh, Bishop, McConville
Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Patterson; Gooch, Flanagan, Doyle, Cirkin; Neil, Hawkes; Embleton, Pritchard, Diamond; Stewart
We say: Accrington Stanley 1-1 Sunderland
With Sunderland frustrated by consecutive games without a victory and hit hard by injuries, we see Saturday's hosts frustrating their visitors and earning a point.
While Stewart will certainly pose an immense threat, Coleman's men are full of confidence and should fancy themselves to avoid a defeat on home turf.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sunderland win with a probability of 53.43%. A win for Accrington Stanley had a probability of 23.46% and a draw had a probability of 23.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sunderland win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.79%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (9.72%) and 0-2 (8.76%). The likeliest Accrington Stanley win was 2-1 (6.07%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.86%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 10.9% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 1-1 draw for this match.
