Chris Sutton goes ‘against the grain’ with prediction for Nottingham Forest vs Sunderland
Sunderland travel to face Nottingham Forest this weekend.
Off the back of Sunderland’s 1-1 draw against Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light, Regis Le Bris’ side are back on the road this weekend.
On Saturday night, they face former Sunderland-linked Ange Postecoglou‘s Forest side, who are looking for their first win under their new boss.
The Black Cats are yet to win a game away from home this season, and will be looking to put that right at the City Ground this weekend.
Sunderland underdogs again for Forest clash
Unsurprisingly, Forest are favourites to beat Sunderland this weekend, though the underdog label has often played into the hands of the Black Cats, as seen in some of their results this season.
The hosts are in Europe off the back of an impressive season under Nuno Santo, but life under Postecoglou has been difficult when it comes to adapting to their new style of play.
However, via his BBC Sport predictions for Friday’s clash, Chris Sutton still thinks Forest will have more than enough to seal all three points against the Mackems.
He said: “I was so impressed by Sunderland‘s display with 10 men in last weekend’s draw with Aston Villa. They were superbly organised.
“Based on form, they should probably get something from this, but I am going against the grain here, and I am going to say Big Ange will get over the line and get the result he wants.”
Sutton went on to predict a 2-1 win for Postecoglou’s side.
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Sunderland vs Nottingham Forest head-to-head
Sunderland will face Forest for the first time since 2017 on Friday, when they secured a 1-0 away victory courtesy of an Aiden McGeady goal.
However, dating back to 1891, these two sides have faced off against each other on 97 occasions, with the Black Cats coming out on top 40 times.
- Sunderland wins – 40
- Draws – 24
- Forest wins – 33
In fact, going back to 1994, the Black Cats have only lost twice against Forest, with seven wins in that period.
With relegation still on the minds of Sunderland, it is going to be crucial that they start winning games away from home, and Saturday’s encounter provides them a chance to do that.
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