FA Cup

[monks data]

FA Cup | Fourth Round

Jan 25, 2014 at 3pm UK

Sunderland
1-0
Kidderminster Kidderminster Harriers

Mavrias (5')

FT(HT: 1-0)

Preview: Sunderland vs. Kidderminster Harriers

By Joe Fish, Reporter | 23 January 2014

Sports Mole previews the FA Cup fourth-round clash between League Cup finalists Sunderland and Conference outfit Kidderminster Harriers at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland will be hoping to continue their cup success and avoid an FA Cup fourth-round upset when they host non-league Kidderminster Harriers on Saturday.

Gus Poyet guided the Black Cats to Wembley in midweek with a dramatic penalty-shootout win over Manchester United in the Capital One Cup semi-final.

Now from one extreme to another, as Conference playoff hopefuls Kidderminster travel to the Stadium of Light on the back of scalps over Newport County and Peterborough United in the earlier stages.

With many of his first-team regulars having played 120 minutes at Old Trafford on Wednesday, Poyet is expected to heavily rotate his squad for the visit of the Midlands minnows. New Argentine signings Oscar Ustari and Santiago Vergini are expected to make their debuts in goal and defence respectively.

Vito Mannone, Wes Brown and John O'Shea, Steven Fletcher, Phil Bardsley, Adam Johnson and Sung-Yong Ki may all be rested ahead of an important Premier League clash with Stoke City on Wednesday.

Liverpool loanee Fabio Borini is eligible to play and he and Lee Cattermole could be the only players retained from the starting XI that faced the Red Devils. Emanuele Giaccherini, Valentin Roberge and Andrea Dossena are among those that will probably be considered for recalls.

Kidderminster are 9-1 with leading bookmaker SkyBet to pull off another upset and new Harriers boss Andy Thorn, who has only been in charge for two weeks, is likely to keep faith with the side that came this far under Steve Burr, who was sacked with the club sixth in the table in January.

Michael Gash has scored in his last two matches, including the win over Posh in the third-round replay, and is a name to watch out for, but Thorn will be without in-form striker Joe Lolley, who scored 11 times for Kidderminster this season before moving to Championship outfit Huddersfield last week.

Recent form

Sunderland: LDWWWL

Kidderminster: LWWDLW

Possible starting lineups

Sunderland: Ustari; Celustka, Roberge, Vergini, Dossena; Larsson, Gardner, Cattermole, Giaccherini; Borini, Altidore

Kidderminster: Lewis; Vaughan, Demetriou, Jackman, Gowling; Byrne, Storer, Fowler, Johnson; Gash, Malbon

Sports Mole says: 3-1