West Bromwich Albion will look to put the defeat against leaders Leicester City behind them when they take on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in a lunchtime kickoff on Saturday. West Brom have been the better side this season and it would come as no surprise if they record a victory over the hosts.
Sunderland have had a pretty inconsistent campaign to date but their form has fallen off in the last few weeks. They are currently winless in their last three games, with back to back defeats away at Plymouth Argyle and at home to Huddersfield preceding last week's 1-1 draw at Millwall.
Those results are symptomatic of a dip in form for Sunderland as all three opponents are languishing in positions well placed in the bottom half of the division. The 2-0 defeat to Plymouth Argyle was particularly poor as they were bereft of ideas in the final third.
Manager Tony Mowbray has paid the price for Sunderland’s poor form with first team coach Mike Dodds placed in temporary charge. The Black Cats will be hoping for a new manager bounce in order to set their campaign back on track.
West Brom travel to the Stadium of Light off the back of a 2-1 home defeat to Leicester City last time out in the Championship. They looked to have earned a point following Josh Maja’s late equaliser but somehow went on to concede an injury time winner.
The manager Carlos Corberan will be disappointed with the defeat, he will be keen to focus on their overall form which has been solid in recent weeks. West Brom have won five of their last seven Championship matches and are well in the mix for the playoffs as they sit fifth on the standings.
West Brom can also take a lot of confidence from their recent form on the road having picked up three wins from their last five away matches. They triumphed 1-0 at Cardiff City in their previous fixture on the road.
How the bookies view it
Sunderland have the upper hand among the bookies with a home win priced at 13/10 by bet365. A victory for West Brom is valued at 9/4 by Unibet while BetVictor is offering odds of 23/10 for a draw.
Head to Head
West Brom have a 45-42 advantage with 33 draws from 120 previous matches against Sunderland. The Baggies have also won two of the last three meetings and triumphed 2-1 on their last visit to the Stadium of Light.
Players to watch
Jack Clarke has impressed for Sunderland and has now scored 10 Championship goals this season. The forward could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime at 5/2 with bet365.
Having finally got off the mark for West Brom last time out, Josh Maja will be keen to go on a scoring run. The Nigerian forward is priced at odds of 27/10 by 10bet to find the net on Saturday.
Anything else catch the eye?
There have been goals for both teams in three of their last four meetings and a Saturday’s clash could be tipped to follow a similar pattern at 8/11 with bet365. The last two meetings have produced over 2.5 goals which is priced at 19/20 with bet365 while BetVictor is offering odds of 12/5 for over 3.5 goals.
West Brom have opened the scoring in five of their last seven matches and could be backed to grab the first goal on Saturday at 5/4 with bet365.
This England Championship match between Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion will be played on Dec 9, 2023 and kick off at 12:30. Check below for our tipsters best Sunderland vs West Bromwich Albion prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
