Sunderland torn to shreds on talkSPORT, EFL expert names only half-decent player
Sunderland have been far from impressive ahead of the playoff clash against Coventry City.
The Mackems come into a huge two-legged clash against Frank Lampard’s side off the back of five consecutive Championship defeats.
This has seen Regis Le Bris oversee just one win since the start of April, and now he must turn things around, ready to face the Sky Blues.
With the Black Cats set for a trip to The Coventry Building Society Arena on Friday (9 May), an EFL expert has been less than complimentary with his thoughts ahead of the game.
Sunderland slammed before Coventry clash
There is very little positivity for supporters in SR5 to take with them to the Midlands ahead of a clash with Premier League football in mind.
This comes after a dreadful run of form where the last win came on 5 April as Trai Hume scored an excellent free kick against West Brom.
| Date | Opponent | Result |
| 03/05/25 | QPR (H) | 0-1 (L) |
| 26/04/25 | Oxford United (A) | 2-0 (L) |
| 21/04/25 | Blackburn (H) | 0-1 (L) |
| 18/04/25 | Bristol City (A) | 2-1 (L) |
| 12/04/25 | Swansea City (H) | 0-1 (L) |
| 08/04/25 | Norwich City (A) | 0-0 (D) |
Since then, the northeast club has scored just one goal as Eliezer Mayenda scored a superb solo goal against Bristol City at Ashton Gate.
This was a showcase of the 20-year-old’s talent as he has been a shining light in a difficult period for the Black Cats towards the end of the season.
EFL expert Adrian Clarke has echoed this on talkSPORT (9 May, 06:37am), slamming the Mackems’ form before picking out the Spaniard for his recent performances.
He said: “Sunderland are way off it. At the minute, they’re out of sorts. They qualified for the playoffs probably too early because none of their matches have mattered for ages, and because of that, the little five per cent edge is missing.
“The team isn’t functioning, the forwards, none of them, are in form, Mayenda is the only one you could say is playing half decent.
“Coventry have got 10 points from the last six and Sunderland have got one, they’ve only scored one goal in the last five games, so unless there’s a magic button at Regis Le Bris’ disposal where he can go, ‘Right, bang, you’re back on it boys.’ Then I think they get beaten at Coventry.”
Sunderland must turn form around v Coventry
There was so much positivity surrounding the Black Cats in the first half of the season, which has fallen away in months gone by.
The form of Wilson Isidor has played a key role in the downturn of form, something that has to change against Coventry in the playoffs.
It will be a complete waste of a season if the Mackems don’t turn up for either leg of the clash against Lampard’s men.
Le Bris has some serious questions to answer already, and they will only get worse if his side doesn’t secure a positive set of results in the coming week.