Sunderland vs Leicester prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2024-03-04 19:45.
Saturday’s trip to Norwich City saw Sunderland fall to their fourth successive defeat by a one-goal margin, and although they are still up in tenth place, any hopes of sneaking into the play-offs are quickly fading away. In fact, with 11 games of the season remaining, the Black Cats are equidistant points wise from the final play-off position and last relegation place!
Tasked with guiding the side to as high a finishing spot as possible, interim boss Mike Dodds, who is in his second stint as caretaker manager this season (W2, L3), claimed there are still a “lot of things” his side need to do better. And he will be hoping that a home fixture, where they have scored seven in their last three, will at the very least bring around a better return in front of goal.
Table-topping Leicester City make the journey to the north east on Tuesday as the bookmaker’s favourites, but their form is not much better than their hosts as the Foxes have lost three in a row in the league. Their latest defeat came at home against relegation-threatened QPR at the weekend who managed to win 2-1 in spite of Leicester enjoying 74% possession and having 18 of the 21 goal attempts!
An immediate return to the Premier League as Champions, which has looked a near-certainty throughout the season, is suddenly looking less secure and they kick off this round with a lead of only three points over Ipswich in second and five over Leeds in third. But taking on Sunderland could be the tonic required to get back on track for Enzo Maresca’s team who have lost just once in the last seven H2Hs (W4, D2).
Players to watch: Midfielder Pierre Ekwah has seen all of his goals this season arrive at home, with Sunderland winning on all three occasions. Leicester’s Jamie Vardy came off the bench on Saturday, but he will be pushing for a place in the starting XI on Tuesday, particularly with his record of four goals in his last four starts against Sunderland.
Hot stat: Sunderland have failed to score in three of their last four H2Hs against Leicester.