Preview: Sunderland v City

A season which promised so much for the North-East's top club has somehow contrived to fall apart at the seams. With the funding of new-ish owner Ellis Short, a proven Premier League manager in place, albeit one with Geordie tendencies, and the additions of several decent players - Bent, Cana, Turner, Cattermole - the Mackems have somehow been lured into a relegation battle.

Though their form over recent weeks has been awful to the extent that they've gone from being considered a dark horse for a Europa League place to one for the drop, at the Stadium of Light they've done quite well, and the block of four successive home fixtures that they're currently in the middle of gives them a good chance to pull away from sides that, though sides are where they deserve to be, Sunderland are much better than.

Midfielder Lorik Cana is suspended, and the other contenders for the central roles - Lee Cattermole, Kieran Richardson and impressive youngster Jordan Henderson are all carrying injuries, though you'd expect at least one to be passed fit. Benjani is prevented from playing due to the terms of his loan agreement, and the leaner than he once was Andy Reid has a hamstring problem, but otherwise Steve Bruce would appear to have a fully available squad to pick from.

You would have thought that Roberto's team selection would be relatively routine given our last result. In a way it's a shame we've had to wait a fortnight for our next game, but the fantastic win at Stamford Bridge should still give us the confidence to improve results on the road. Pat Vieira returns from a three-game suspension, with Martin Petrov the only player likely to be missing from the squad due to injury. Emmanuel Adebayor remains banned.

I expect we'll stick with the three-man central midfield that served us so well that day. The main decision will likely be who lines up on the right wing. Shaun Wright-Phillips impressed during the second half at Chelsea, but Adam Johnson has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water since joining from Boro, so it's a tough call, but either will find themselves playing against an unorthodox full-back in Anton Ferdinand.

The omens are certainly good for us. Sunderland have been one of a select few sides we've regularly got the better of over recent seasons, with nine consecutive victories stretching back to December 2002. We've also won on our last four visits to their place, and have only been beaten once against sides occupying bottom half positions. The Mackems also haven't won two on the bounce in a year and a half, but we know that such stats can mean little come the day.

Despite most folk seeing this one as an away banker, i don't envisage it being anything other than a very tough game. I'm slightly happier to be playing them after they've finally ended their winless streak save the inevitable 'typical City' result, but last time round aside we've hardly been imperious on the road, and often find ourselves losing both our shape and the physical battles.

The key battle should be between our central defence - both of whom have played very well over recent weeks and seem to be forming a real understanding, and their main attacking threats, - the dominant Kenwyne Jones and nineteen-goal record signing Darren Bent, who's proving his form at Charlton was no fluke after a disappointing spell at Spurs. If Vince and Joleon are even half as effective as they were against Drogba and pals then we could have a good afternoon.

I've no choice but to sit on the fence. Their relatively solid home form (just one defeat in sixteen), our patchy away results, the inevitability of us following up perhaps our greatest ever Premier League away win with a televised 'after the Lord Mayor's show' non-event makes me fancy a draw. Three points would be huge given Spurs' win over Blackburn and Liverpool's home fixture on Monday, but a point wouldn't be a bad result. We know that how we do at Eastlands will ultimately seal our fate, and points on the road are merely a Brucie bonus.

Possible teams:
Sunderland: Gordon, Hutton, Ferdinand, Turner, Mensah, Cattermole, Campbell, Richardson, Bent, Jones, Malbranque

City: Given, Richards, Bridge, Kompany, Lescott, de Jong, Zabaleta, Barry, A.Johnson, Tevez, Bellamy

Prediction: Sunderland 2 City 2