The first Sky Bet Championship weekend back from the World Cup break concludes on Monday evening when Sunderland, who actually play for the second week in succession, welcome West Bromwich Albion to the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland rearranged a game for last week which they won so they will hope that gives them an advantage in this game. West Brom were in good form prior to the World Cup break and will hope that hasn’t derailed them at all.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football channels with the build-up to the game beginning at 7.30pm and kick off at what will be a chilly Stadium of Light at 8pm.
Sunderland
I mentioned last week that prior to the international break the home form of Sunderland hadn’t been the best but they certainly didn’t let that detract them last week when they took care of a Millwall side who were in the top six at the time of the contest. Sunderland rode their luck in the early stages of that match but when they got themselves in front in the second period they didn’t look back and ended up running out very comfortable winners.
It does mean that either side of the break, Sunderland have now won three of their last four matches and if they put another win on the board here then they will move to within a point of the play-offs as we approach the halfway mark of the season. You would think they will need to be at their best defensively if they are going to win this match but they will need to give West Brom something to think about at the other end as well.
West Bromwich Albion
The first part of the season was dreadful for West Bromwich Albion. They just couldn’t win a match for love nor money under Steve Bruce but once they finally dispensed of his services they predictably began to turn things around. It wasn’t an immediate fix under Carlos Corberan but the longer he worked with his new players the better they became and they went into the international break off the back of three wins in succession.
That got them to the fringes of climbing out of the bottom three and they only need to avoid defeat in this match to come out of the danger zone. If they happen to win the game they will move up five spots and will be looking ahead rather than behind them. Corberan made them much more defensively proficient prior to the break and now Baggies fans will hope he has worked on the attacking formula which will deliver more in the way of goals.
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Team News
Sunderland could have their top scorer from last season, Ross Stewart, back for this match after he returned in a training ground friendly in midweek. Bailey Wright and Jewison Bennette are back from the World Cup but Alex Pritchard is a doubt.
Carlos Corberan is expected to have the services of Daryl Dike to call upon after the America international has returned from injury. Grady Diangana is also expected to be involved but potentially only from the bench.
Betting
West Brom have tightened right up defensively in recent matches under Carlos Corberan but I do think that the competitive match that Sunderland have had will be an advantage for them in this game, not least because they have the confidence of having won it and scored three goals in the process. They could also be boosted by the return of Ross Stewart but there are goals all across this Sunderland side, which will encourage home fans here.
You have to think it will only be a matter of time before West Brom find a groove in front of goal with the attacking personnel that they have. Corberan probably isn’t known for his exciting attacking play but in Jed Wallace and John Swift he has the two best creative players in the league at his disposal and more than enough strikers to convert the chances that are created. That makes me think that whichever way this one swings, both teams to score looks a decent bet here.
Tips
Back Both teams to score for a 3/10 stake at 1.85 with William Hill
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