Sunderland vs Hull prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2024-01-18 20:00.
Despite two wins in his five league games in charge to date (D1, L2), Sunderland boss Michael Beale is already feeling the wrath of some supporters following a defeat at Ipswich which he described as “bitterly disappointing”. That was the eighth Championship game the Black Cats have lost by a one-goal margin this season, with only two clubs in the division losing out by a single strike more often, and both of those are in the relegation zone.
Fortunately for Beale, Friday night sees him go up against the only English side he has a 100%-winning record against in the dugout (W2), based on meeting at least twice, beating Hull City as recently as Boxing Day. Sunderland as a club have a pretty good record against the Tigers too, going unbeaten in the last ten H2H league meetings (W4, D6).
Both clubs head into Friday night’s clash knowing that a win would – at least temporarily – take them back into the play-offs, and three points would be more than welcome for Hull, who have now lost six of their last nine Championship games (W3). Only five clubs have picked up fewer points since the beginning of December, and that tally includes four of the actual bottom five.
“We're going to be absolutely fine” was the verdict of Tigers manager Liam Rosenior after their home defeat to Norwich last week, but conceding 2+ goals in six of those last nine hasn’t exactly helped his case. Neither has keeping just two clean sheets away from home all season, which won’t exactly boost hope amongst the City faithful ahead of a short trip to the North East, where they’ll look to avoid their worst losing league run on the road since four straight defeats between Aug-Sept 2022.
Key battle: A pulsating 4-4 draw between these two at the Stadium of Light last season saw Black Cats’ leading scorer Jack Clarke – who has scored just two of his 13 league goals this season at home – net once and grab three assists. Hull’s Regan Slater also scored and provided two assists in the same game, but notably has never beaten Sunderland (D3, L2).
Hot stat: Hull have scored in 11 of their 13 away matches, winning five (D2, L6).