Premiership Prediction – Sunderland v Man United

Here is my prediction for Sunderland v Man United [15:00] on Saturday 11th April. Sunderland are sitting just a few points above the drop zone and that is worrying for them, they need points like everyone else in that situation, but this is a game that may be beyond their control. Man United have been sloppy in recent weeks and will need to put in a good performance to get anything out of this game.

Man United have been sloppy in recent weeks and their season may be about to fall apart. First they lost at home to Liverpool, then instead of rebounding away against Fulham, they picked up a second defeat running. Last weekend the title looked to be slipping from them when they were 2-1 down against Aston Villa at home, however their 3-2 come back did not inspire them to put their bad run behind them. In mid week they looked tired and off the pace of the game against Porto who had United under pressure in the very early minutes of the game.

Sunderland are a team lacking consistancy. Sometimes they put on an excellent performance but the week after they are horrible. They have some very good players and a fairly large squad compared to teams like Everton. However, they may be a little worried about playing United, even though United are struggling a little bit right now. Even with the home advantage Sunderland have not beaten Man United in the league at the Stadium of Light since March 1997. United have won four and there have been two draws.

Sunderland’s last six league home games:
1-2 Wigan [L]
1-1 Tottenham [D]
2-0 Stoke [W]
1-0 Fulham [W]
1-2 Aston Villa [L]
0-0 Blackburn [D]

Man United’s last six league away games:
2-0 Fulham [L]
1-2 Newcastle [W]
0-1 West Ham [W]
0-5 West Brom [W]
0-1 Bolton [W]
0-1 Stoke [W]

Man United will be without Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans is also a doubt. Wayne Rooney suffered a rib injury against Porto but could still make the team. Sunderland could be without captain Dean Whitehead who is a doubt with a calf injury. Calum Davenport could be recalled to the lineup after missing the game with West Ham. Teemu Tainio could also return.

Man United do not lose many games in a season and although they are on a bit of a bad run at the moment I still think that they have enough to beat Sunderland. United have a lot of quality players and like last weekend, even when they aren’t having great games, they can still have moments of brilliance and score the goal you need to win. Sunderland do not have a good record against the so called big four, and I think they are still a long way to go before they are top half finishers in the Premiership.

Prediction: 0-2

Up to £50 free bet with BetFred