Sunderland vs Huddersfield prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-04-17 18:45.
Manager Tony Mowbray has admitted his Sunderland side are loving every minute of their exciting climax to the Championship season. The Black Cats came from behind to beat Birmingham 2-1 on Saturday, with the boss praising his side for “finding a way” to win, despite having left-back Dennis Cirkin sent off late on.
That result has left supporters dreaming of a return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017. They finished the last round two points outside the play-off positions and unbeaten in five outings (W2, D3), but could do with picking up some more victories at the Stadium of Light, where the win over Birmingham ended a run of five games without success (D3, L2), with both teams interestingly scoring in each of those fixtures.
The visit of Huddersfield might provide Sunderland with the perfect chance to make it back-to-back successes at home, given the Terriers' total of 13 away defeats is already their seasonal joint-high in the second tier this century. The most recent of those was a 1-0 reverse against Swansea on Saturday, when the Yorkshire outfit managed just one shot on target and saw a five-match unbeaten run come to an end (W3, D2).
Despite the weekend result, Neil Warnock’s side have managed to stay one point clear of the relegation zone, a far cry from their perilous position deep inside the bottom three when he took charge in February. History suggests it’s unlikely that they will move further clear of danger in this fixture though, as they head to Wearside looking to beat Sunderland away in a league fixture for the first time since 1960 (D1, L8)!
Key battle: Striker Jack Clarke has only lost one of the eight league games in which he has scored for Sunderland (W4, D3). He will be trying to get the better of Huddersfield defender Tom Lees, who has helped his side keep one clean sheet in three previous unbeaten appearances against the Black Cats (W2, D1).
Hot stat: Both teams have scored in 13 of Sunderland’s 21 home league matches; that’s a Championship high.