Goodman shares experiment he’s conducted to predict Sunderland’s playoff fate
Sunderland are seemingly out of the automatic promotion picture as a result of their recent form.
Sunderland have been hanging on to their hopes of a top-two finish for the majority of the season, though their latest 3-0 defeat to Coventry City surely ended those chances.
Instead, it appears as though any chance of promotion for Sunderland will have to be achieved through the play-offs.
However, for that to be the case, Sunderland will need to get back to the level of performance that brought them plenty of success in the earlier stages of the campaign.
Don Goodman shares Sunderland playoff fate
Sunderland appear to have all but cemented their place in the playoffs, with a ten-point gap on Coventry below them, and a nine-point gap to bridge on those above.
However, Don Goodman has conducted a mini experiment to see how the remainder of the season could pan out for the Black Cats when speaking on the Championship Catch-Up podcast (20 March).
| Championship (3rd-5th) | W | D | L | P |
| Burnley | 21 | 15 | 2 | 78 |
| Sunderland | 19 | 12 | 7 | 69 |
| Coventry | 17 | 8 | 13 | 59 |
Goodman said: “I did an experiment over the last eight games and what happened if those point tallies were replicated over the next eight.
“You’d have Sunderland on 80 points, Coventry on 77 and Bristol City on 72 points. Below that West Brom would have 70. Clearly Coventry are the side in the pole position with massive momentum.”
Of course, based on his prediction, it would see Sunderland remain in fourth, where they would face Coventry City in the playoffs, which based on the last encounter, could spell bad news on Wearside.
Sunderland need to achieve promotion from the Championship
It is now approaching eight years since Sunderland were last in the Premier League, and the longer that continues, it harder it becomes to make a return.
Not only that, but Sunderland would be at risk of losing several key players if they ere to remain in the Championship beyond the current campaign.
Regis Le Bris‘ side have an excellent chance to rectify that this season, though results and performances will have to improve significantly if that is to be achieved.
With eight games to go, finding momentum will be key to any promotion hopes, starting with a clash against Millwall after the international break.