Sunderland v Blackburn preview: Team news, lineups, supercomputer prediction
Sunderland face Blackburn on Easter Monday, with a playoff place secured for weeks now.
Regis Le Bris‘ side has had a strong season, securing a top-six berth with plenty of time remaining, potentially allowing the Frenchman to rest key players.
However, he will want to finish the campaign on a high and garner momentum ahead of the end-of-season Championship showdown, after contrasting form for weeks.
Sunderland v Blackburn Preview
The Black Cats come into the contest on the back of a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Bristol City on Good Friday (18 April) which saw Trai Hume sent off.
Le Bris’ side has scored just three goals in their last five league matches and have won just two of their last six, with 1-0 victories over Millwall (29 March) and West Brom (5 April).
They have failed to win in their last three, with a 0-0 draw against Norwich (8 April), then losses to Swansea (12 April) and the Ashton Gate outfit.
| Championship | Played | GD | Points |
| 4. Sunderland | 43 | +18 | 76 |
| 5. Bristol City | 43 | +10 | 67 |
| 6. Coventry | 43 | +7 | 66 |
The Stadium of Light contest gives them the chance to get back to winning ways and gain confidence ahead of the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Blackburn come into the clash on the back of a 4-1 win over Millwall (18 April) but are still seven points behind the playoff places with just three matches to go.
Form guide
Sunderland: LLDWWL
Blackburn: WWDLLL
Team news
The Black Cats will be without the suspended Hume, and Luke O’Nien is among those who could deputise in the position.
Le Bris is also without Dan Ballard, Niall Huggins, Aji Alese, Ian Poveda, Jenson Seelt, Romaine Mundle and Dennis Cirkin for the contest through injury.
Meanwhile, the visitors are missing Scott Wharton, Augustus Kargbo, Emmanuel Dennis, Owen Beck, Hayden Carter and Harry Leonard.
Aynsley Pears is expected to return between the sticks as he made the bench on Friday.
Predicted lineups
Sunderland: Patterson, Browne, Mepham, O’Nien, Hjelde, Bellingham, Neil, Rigg, Roberts, Mayenda, Isidor
Blackburn: Pears, Brittain, Batth, Hyam, Ribeiro, Travis, Tronstad, Dolan, Cantwell, Hedges, Ohashi
Where to watch?
The clash will be screened on Sky Sports Plus with kick-off at 15:00 GMT.
Supercomputer prediction
According to the latest predictions from the Opta supercomputer, a Sunderland victory is the most likely outcome on Easter Monday.
The Black Cats have a 57.3 per cent chance of victory in the contest with a draw the second most likely outcome at 22.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, a Rovers win is the lowest possible outcome with a 20.6 per cent chance.