Sunderland vs Watford prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-04-28 14:00.
Sunderland added to their list of âgreat away daysâ this season according to boss Tony Mowbray, who saw his side keep promotion hopes alive with a 2-1 win over West Brom last weekend. However the Black Cats may still need to achieve maximum points in order to achieve a top-six finish, due to the fact there are eight sides in contention for the remaining two hotly-contested play-off spots.
A Stadium of Light return isnât guaranteed to mean further progress for Mowbrayâs men as theyâve won just one of their last seven games here (W1, D4, L2). Both teams actually found the net in each of those seven games, and had Sunderland defended better, theyâd have probably secured the play-offs already as they have now failed to win from leading positions in four of their last seven home outings!
Another former Middlesbrough manager occupies the Watford dugout in the form of Chris Wilder, a man who was left seething as his sideâs slim play-off hopes were mathematically snuffed out with a 1-0 defeat at Hull last time out. The appointment of Wilder has ultimately been a failure, though he recently said that the team are âweak mentally and physicallyâ and that nobody âcould get a tune out of this firmâ.
The Hornets have been hitting bum notes on their travels a lot too, with no wins across their last nine competitive trips (D3, L6). Each defeat across that period came without reply, and with defeats âto nilâ in three of their last six visits to this corner of North East England, things may get worse before they get better.
Players to watch: Sunderlandâs Amad Diallo narrowly missed out on the EFL Young Player of the Season award, and despite his upset reaction on social media, his goal contributions across the last five rounds have helped keep his side in play-off contention (G3, A1). Keinan Davis hit the opener for Watford in the reverse, yet that was one of the nine league games in which his side scored first and failed to win (W13, D6, L3).
Hot stat: Only Burnley and Luton have a stronger unbeaten rate than Sunderlandâs 86% as pre-match favourites in the Championship (W7, D8, L3).