An opportunity to face Leeds awaits the side that can secure victory in this FA Cup replay. The Black Cats will be feeling confident after suffering just one defeat across their last nine competitive outings. George Gamble picks out a best bet.
Six of Fulham’s last seven competitive matches have produced fewer than three goals in total and boss Marco Silva will be keen for his side to edge what’s expected to be a close encounter.
Sunderland are contenders for a place in the Championship play-offs as they look to work towards a return to the Premier League, but their attention is now on this replay after a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage.
They continue to defy the odds and coming into this one as underdogs won’t faze them, particularly as Sunderland are on a run of five matches without suffering defeat as market outsiders.
Kick-off time: 19:45 GMT, Wednesday
TV channel: BBC One, BBC iPlayer
The visitors have hit a bit of a rut. They recently went on a run of nine successive away games in which they found the back of the net but have since failed to notch away at both Newcastle and Chelsea, despite fielding what was arguably their strongest line-up.
That should give the hosts plenty of confidence coming into this one, but it will by no means be easy and scoring chances may come at a premium on Wednesday evening.
Just two goals have been witnessed across Fulham’s last three away games in the top flight and Marco Silva will be expecting more from the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic.
It seems that if the Serb is kept quiet, the Cottagers struggle for goals - he is their top scorer with 11 in the league and the second-highest is Bobby De Cordova-Reid with just four.
In the Championship, Sunderland are in the top four when it comes to average tackles per game with 17, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the hosts look to make it physical and hurt Fulham in the transitions.
It should lead to a fairly competitive clash in midfield with both sides featuring personnel that look to break up play immediately.
The visitors away games have been tight affairs recently and it looks to be a little closer than the odds suggest. With that in mind, goals don’t look like they’ll arrive with any frequency and the 11/10 available on UNDER 2.5 GOALS makes plenty of appeal.
Sunderland v Fulham best bets and score prediction
- 1.5pts Under 2.5 Goals at 11/10 (General)
Score prediction: Sunderland 1-1 Fulham (Sky Bet odds: 6/1)
Odds correct at 1230 GMT (07/02/23)
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