Premier League preview: Sunderland v Fulham

Both Sunderland and Fulham will be desperate for three points when they face each other at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

Sunderland, who sit 15th, are just a spot above their opponents on the Premier League table, with both sides having won twice, drawn four and lost five matches this season.

The poor form of the two sides early in the season is not reflective of their respective top-half finishes in the league last term, and consequent spending in the off-season.

But despite a poor start, Sunderland have the fourth-best defence in the Premier League which is largely thanks the signings of former Manchester United pair John O’Shea and Wes Brown.

And that is why Black Cats manager Steve Bruce is sweating on the fitness of O’Shea, who played a full 90 minutes for the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday, despite recent hamstring issues.

“It is good that John is fit enough to be back playing for Ireland,” Bruce said.

“I just hope that he has no reaction to that game.”

Bruce also revealed that striker Connor Wickham has no long-term damage to his knee, with the highly rated 18-year-old set to miss up to six weeks after he was stretchered off in their 1-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford earlier this month.

With Asamoah Gyan out on loan and Fraizer Campbell on the sidelines with a knee problem, Bruce is short on striking options and will be relying on Denmark international Nicklas Bendtner to lead his attack.

Bendtner is in form, having scored for Denmark in their 2-0 and 2-1 wins over Sweden and Finland respectively, in the latest international break, but he will need support if Sunderland are to find their way past a Fulham side who are not conceding that many goals either.

Martin Jol’s side have won just three times on the road in 2011 and although they won 2-0 at Wigan recently, it is an area that requires dramatic improvement.

Consistent Europa League commitments have made things hard for Fulham this season and they need to get something from this match before tricky clashes with Arsenal and Liverpool in their next two Premier League encounters.

The likes of Andy Johnson, Philippe Senderos, Simon Davies and Zdenek Grygera are on Fulham’s injury list, which does not help when you have a small squad, and all signs point to a Sunderland success on Saturday.