Verdict: Man City/Man City
Best Odds: 4/5
Bookmaker: Bet365
The Citizens travel to the Stadium of Light confident they will be able to continue their improved run of form as they take on injury-depleted hosts Sunderland.
Sunderland
Just when it looked that Sunderland’s struggles might be over with a goalless draw against Tottenham and a compelling 4-0 victory away at Crystal Palace, Sunderland suffered a fresh slump with back-to-back defeats to Southampton and Everton which left them nailed to the bottom of the Premier league standings. The Black Cats are two points behind Hull City in 19th place and will need a miracle to emerge victorious against in-form Citizens given the fact they ended up conceding six goals in last two matches while at the same time failing to score even once. The things are looking rather gloom for David Moyes’ charges who have lost all previous six meetings with the Citizens. Relegation-threatened Sunderland will need to pull another great escape, which has so far become an annual tradition for the Black Cats, but their rally is unlikely to start on Sunday. Few will give Sunderland much chance of getting a positive result against Manchester City, knowing that Sunderland 0 with the exception of that rare Crystal Palace triumph – are winless since mid-December.
Team News
David Moyes is facing a selection headache as the Sunderland boss is without as many as ten players, who are suffering from injuries.
Billy Jones, Victor Anichebe, Duncan Watmore, Paddy McNair, Lee Cattermole, Vito Mannone, Jason Denayer, Steven Pienaar, Jack Rodwell and Jan Kirchhoff are all ruled oud due to respective injuries, while Papy Djilobodji is suspended for the occasion.
Manchester City
It is all smiles on the training ground for Manchester City, who appear to have shaken off their evil spirits after the 4-0 slum at the hands of Everton. The Citizens have won six and drawn two of their last eight matches and are coming from back-to-back triumphs which saw them score 10 goals in total and 5 apiece for a huge morale boost ahead of the crucial period in the season. Manchester City travel to the Stadium of Light looking to record their seventh straight victory over Sunderland and possibly sit in second place in the Premier League standings if other results go their way. Pep Guardiola will have been pleased with his team’s current form and most notably with the resurgence of Sergio Aguero who scored a hat-trick in his team’s 5-1 win over Huddersfield in the FA Cup. The Argentinean is back to his best and is doing the utmost to compensate for the absence of the surprise star Gabriel Jesus.
Team News
Pep Guardiola will have no fresh injury worries as Gabriel Jesus and Ilkay Gundogan remain the only first-team absentees.
Aleksandar Kolarov is facing a race against time to be fit to play after suffering a knock, whereas Vincent Kompany’s struggles with injuries are well-documented.
Key Factors to Consider
- Sunderland lost 6 consecutive matches against Man City
- Black Cats are missing no less than 11 players for the match vs Citizens
- Man City have scored 10 goals in their last two games
- Guardiola’s men are without a defeat since mid-January
- Sunderland are winless at home since mid-December
Conclusion
There is hardly any chance that Sunderland can hope to get something out of their meeting with Manchester City. David Moyes’ men are struggling with a number of injuries to their first-team players, but most importantly they are struggling with a huge dip in form which is bound to put them in a tough position as they attempt to pull another annual great escape.
Verdict: Man City/Man City
Best Odds: 4/5
Bookmaker: Bet365
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