Sunderland will endeavour to boost their slim chances of sneaking into the Championship playoff positions when they welcome Hull City to the Stadium of Light on Good Friday.
The Black Cats and the Tigers will be seeking to return to winning ways after playing out goalless stalemates with Burnley and Rotherham United respectively last time out.
Match preview
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Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray will have taken plenty of positives from his side's performance last week after picking up a point away against league leaders Burnley, keeping their 12th Championship clean sheet in the process.
However, the Black Cats have now won only one of their last eight league matches and have slipped down to 12th in the table, seven points behind Millwall and Blackburn Rovers who occupy the final two playoff positions.
Sunderland's form on home soil has been a concern for some time, as they have picked up maximum points in just four of their last 13 league games at the Stadium of Light since the middle of October.
The Tyne and Wear-based outfit head into their Good Friday contest unbeaten in their last eight encounters with Hull, although five of those have ended as draws. Indeed, their last three meetings with the Tigers have finished all square including a 1-1 draw at the MKM Stadium in December.
Mowbray will hope that victory against Hull can spark a strong run of form in the latter stages of the season as the Black Cats bid to make a late push for the playoffs, with successive fixtures against bottom-half sides Cardiff City, Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town soon to follow.
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Like Sunderland, Hull lacked a cutting edge in front of goal last weekend as they drew 0-0 in a Yorkshire derby at home against Rotherham United, playing out their third draw in the last four matches.
Domingos Quina was sent off for the Millers in the final 10 minutes after barging into Adama Traore when he was through on goal, but the Tigers were unable to make the breakthrough with an extra man.
Liam Rosenior's men have now won only one of their last nine league games and have dropped down to 17th place in the Championship standings, nine points clear of the relegation zone and six points behind their next opponents Sunderland inside the top half.
Hull enjoyed a seven-game unbeaten league run away from home between October and January, but they head to the Stadium of Light having failed to win any of their last six matches on the road.
Victory for the Tigers on Good Friday would be their first away against Sunderland since December 2014 and could see them climb to as high as 14th in the table, all but securing their status as a second-tier club for next season.
Team News
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Sunderland defender Dan Ballard is facing up to three weeks on the sidelines after sustaining a hamstring injury while on international duty with Northern Ireland last month, and he is joined in the treatment room by Niall Huggins, Ross Stewart, Corry Evans, Elliot Embleton, Aji Alese and Jewison Bennette.
Dennis Cirkin returned to the matchday squad against Burnley last week after a spell out with concussion, and the left-back will be hoping for a recall to the first XI at the expense of Lynden Gooch.
Manchester United loanee Amad Diallo could also return to the starting lineup, which would likely see either Patrick Roberts or Alex Pritchard drop to the substitutes' bench, while Pierre Ekwah could continue in centre-midfield after being handed his first senior start for the Black Cats against Burnley.
As for Hull, top scorer Oscar Estupinan missed the draw with Rotherham due to an ankle issue, but Rosenior is hopeful that the Colombian striker can recover in time for the clash with Sunderland.
However, Aaron Connolly, Benjamin Tetteh, Cyrus Christie, Nathan Baxter and Dimitris Pelkas all remain sidelined as they continue to recover from injury.
Should Estupinan be deemed fit to start, Ryan Longman would be the most likely candidate to drop out of the starting lineup, while Ozan Tufan – who scored a late equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Sunderland in December – could be recalled to the first XI at the expense of Adama Traore.
Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Patterson; Hume, O'Nein, Batth, Cirkin; Ekwah, Neil; Roberts, Diallo, Clarke; Gelhardt
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Darlow; Coyle, Jones, McLoughlin, Greaves; Slater, Seri; Ebiowei, Tufan, Sayyadmanesh; Estupinan
We say: Sunderland 2-1 Hull City
With a top-half finish still in sight for Hull, Rosenior will be hoping that his side can take advantage of Sunderland's poor run of form on home soil.
However, following a hard-fought performance against Burnley last time out, we expect the Black Cats to come out on top on Good Friday and edge closer to the top six.
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