Following a second 1-0 defeat to Blackpool in ten days, Sunderland have fallen into the worst form since being in the Championship. The lads head to Plymouth Argyle on Saturday for a 15:00 kick off sandwiched between an 800+ mile round trip. Will this be our first win in eight games?
THE OPPOSITION
The Pilgrims' form isn't too dissimilar to ours- having picked up a sole point in their last five games and recently losing 6-0 at home to Charlton. With both promotion and relegation mathematically impossible, Ryan Lowe's side have nothing to play for in their last two games. The second worst defensive side in the league, it appears the Greens weakness comes defensively. Argyle tend to operate in either a 3-5-2 or 4-4-2 with the focus being on Luke Jephcott who has sixteen goals in forty one games. The 21-year-old leads the line at Home Park and wears the number 31 shirt. Joe Edwards recently picked up Plymouth's player of the season award and is currently in-form at right-back or right wing-back, despite naturally being a central midfielder.
TALKING POINTS
Tuesday's game was a case of fine margins in the end. An awful game to watch was decided by one moment of sheer quality from Sully Kaikai. Whilst we did have some notable chances towards the end, we were unable to convert one and snatch a point.
We are due to face 22nd placed Northampton Town after Plymouth, two sides we should (on paper) be favourites against. With a sole win standing between us and play-off confirmation, we have two perfect opportunities to gather momentum once more leading into our last chance of promotion this season. Reverting back to 4-3-3, which allows us to dominate the midfield and create from wide areas, as well as giving valuable minutes to the likes of Chris Maguire and Ollie Younger is, in my eyes, one of the best decisions we can make.
The last time out against the Pilgrims saw us lose 2-1 in January. Aiden O'Brien netted for us whilst two costly errors from McFadzean allowed his old side to leave the SOL with three points. Facing them after a tremendous run of form followed by an abysmal one, righting that wrong could be a great psychological boost for the lads. With our hosts having very little to play for, I'm going to predict a classic 1-1.
