Blackburn Rovers make the trip to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland on Boxing Day looking for the win which will ensure that they remain in third position in the Championship standings.
Meanwhile, Tony Mowbray faces his former club with the Black Cats down in 13th spot, albeit just three points adrift of the playoffs.
Match preview
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Mowbray has already renewed acquaintances with Blackburn since his departure in the summer, overseeing a 2-0 defeat in the reverse fixture at Ewood Park as recently as October 18.
Since then, Sunderland have continued on their inconsistent streak this campaign, collecting 11 points from their following eight matches to cement their place in mid-table.
However, Sunderland supporters are demanding more than consolidation during 2022-23, particularly as they currently sit eight points behind their third-paced opponents.
That scenario highlights the small margins of life in the Championship, and the North-East outfit will be heading into the New Year feeling like they are enjoying an excellent campaign if they can win on Monday.
Although a 1-1 draw at Hull City was not the result that they were looking for, Ross Stewart netted his first goal since August after injury and the draw was posted despite having 10 men for the final 31 minutes.
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As has been the case throughout this season, Blackburn have experienced mixed emotions over their last two fixtures, following up one of their best wins of the season with a missed opportunity.
On the back of losing 4-1 at home to Preston North End, Jon Dahl Tomasson may have had concerns ahead of the visit to Norwich City, yet his team were fantastic as they returned from Carrow Road with a 2-0 success.
Retaining third spot in the table, the pressure was off to a certain extent as Rovers faced Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup fourth round with the realistic possibility of earning another Premier League scalp.
Nevertheless, Forest thoroughly outclassed their hosts, condemning them to a second successive 4-1 defeat at Ewood Park, and it leaves Tomasson aware that he has plenty of work ahead if Rovers are to remain in contention for automatic promotion against the odds.
Team News
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Sunderland will be without Danny Batth and Elliot Embleton, the former carrying a calf issue and the latter being suspended and now ruled out with a long-term injury.
Dan Ballard could make his first start since sustaining a broken foot four months ago having proven his fitness as an early substitute last weekend.
Patrick Roberts could get the nod in Embleton's place, while Stewart is pushing for a start ahead of Ellis Simms.
Having made widespread changes for the Forest tie in the cup, Tomasson will likely revert back to much of the Blackburn team which impressed at Norwich.
Daniel Ayala, Tyler Morton and Sam Gallagher are all expected to shake off minor injuries to feature at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Patterson; Gooch, O'Nien, Ballard, Alese; Evans, Neil; Diallo, Roberts, Clarke; Stewart
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Ayala, Hyam, Pickering; Rankin-Costello, Morton, Buckley, Dack; Dolan, Brereton-Diaz; Gallagher
We say: Sunderland 1-1 Blackburn Rovers
Although Blackburn have gone 23 league matches without a draw this season, we feel that the run will come to an end this weekend. As well as Rovers being inconsistent on their travels, Sunderland have been poor at home, and the two teams could play out a low-scoring stalemate.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Darren Plant
