This Saturday, Sunderland will host Reading at the Stadium of Light. The meeting will be the 23rd between the two clubs. Here is how I think it will go…
READING
It’s been a surprisingly secure season so far for Paul Ince’s men, with many people tipping the Royals for relegation at the start of the season. Despite a few heavy defeats, Reading got off to a flying start and even held a playoff spot for a little while. Ironically, Tom Ince is their current top scorer, with the gaffer's son already on seven goals and four assists this season. However, Reading are currently winless in five games and even suffered a 4-0 defeat to Stoke City in recent weeks.
Paul Ince has rotated between 3-5-2, 5-3-2, and 3-1-4-2 over the course of this season, and his side have an average possession stat of 42%. That is the third lowest in the division. As a whole, I’d say that Reading are a really unpredictable side but Ince has instilled a sense of belief and a strong mentality within his players.
SUNDERLAND
This week on Wearside included the Lads losing 3-2 to Fulham in the FA Cup. Despite the disappointing outcome, many fans felt satisfied with the performance on Wednesday night. Tony Mowbray’s side fought to the very end, and the gaffer even voiced his frustrations with the lack of added time. I suppose it's a compliment to us that a Premier League side came to the SoL and felt the need to timewaste and run the clock down...
The Black Cats are now focusing on the league, and hopefully they can follow up on last week's draw at the Den. Sunderland have the chance to extend their unbeaten league run to three games this weekend, so let’s hope they can string together a good run of results despite being down to just Joe Gelhardt up front.
MY PREDICTION So, my prediction for this game is a 2-0 Sunderland win. Reading are winless in five games, and we had no problem beating them last time. Ince’s side play direct football but the Lads have shown that they can handle teams like that. I’m sure if we get the ball on the ground we can carve out chances, and score goals. My goalscorers are Joe Gelhardt and Amad Diallo.
MY PREDICTED SUNDERLAND 11 (FORMATION 4-2-3-1)
1 Anthony Patterson, 6 Danny Batth, 5 Dan Ballard, 32 Trai Hume, 42 Aji Alese, 24 Dan Neil, 17 Abdoullah Ba, 10 Patrick Roberts, 16 Amad Diallo, 20 Jack Clarke, 28 Joe Gelhardt
MY PREDICTED READING 11 (FORMATION 3-5-2)
1 Joe Lumley, 27 Amadou Mbengue, 3 Tom Holmes, 5 Tom McIntyre, 17 Andy Yiadom, 23 Junior Hoilett, 20 Cesare Casadei, 8 Jeff Hendrick, 22 Mamadou Loum, 10 Tom Ince, 11 Yakou Meite
