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United States Match Preview: Accrington Stanley v Sunderland - all the build-up ahead of kick-off!
Tickets: Tickets are available online via SAFC here.
TV/Stream: Full live match coverage available via www.safc.com to residents outside the UK and Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man only.
Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online)
The build-up...Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the game on the Roker Report Twitter feed (@RokerReport) and check out the player ratings after the full-time whistle at www.RokerReport.com!
It’s to the club's credit that we have committed to the scheduled fixture list of late considering the COVID-19 related issues, but there was a look of fatigue around our midweek performance at the Stadium of Light against Lincoln City.
It was only our second defeat on home soil, and away from home we appear to have found a bit of momentum after early wobbles on the road, We’re now undefeated in the last five away from the Stadium of Light and find ourselves in the top six when compared to the away form for the rest of League One.
The look of the automatic promotion places has changed over the last couple of weeks, where Wycombe have replaced Wigan Athletic in terms of being tight with the top two due to Wigan’s reluctance to play football until June, and a return to winning ways for The Lads may be required to keep in touch with leaders Rotherham United.
Photo by Will Matthews/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Once again John Coleman continues to perform wonders at the Crown Ground. Since gaining promotion to League One at the end of the 2017-18 season, Stanley have consistently been located in the general safety of mid-table and this season is no different.
Coleman’s side currently sit 11th, and eight points off the play-offs as they hit a decent run of form. A run that has seen just one defeat in the last seven games has seen Accrington quietly climb the table after mixed results at the beginning of November.
Their home form finds them unsurprisingly middle of the road when compared to the rest of the division, with seven wins and four defeats from thirteen games on home soil so far.
Since the first time the two sides met in a competitive fixture (that ended up being abandoned) back in December 2018, we haven’t suffered defeat to Stanley to date, and considering the current run of form John Coleman’s have found themselves on, they might fancy their chances this afternoon.
The bookies have The Lads as favourites at 10/11 to take all three points, with Accrington Stanley at 27/10 to take the victory and the draw is 13/5.
A 1-1 draw is the favourite scoreline at 11/2 with a 0-1 away win close behind at 13/2, followed by a 1-2 Sunderland win at 15/2 and 0-2 at 8/1. Stanley are priced 9/1 to win 1-0 and 10/1 to win 2-1.
Head to head...(All competitions)
- Sunderland wins: 5
- Draws: 2
- Accrington Stanley wins: 0
- Sunderland goals: 18
- Accrington Stanley goals: 8
(Stewart 62’, Wyke 86’)
Sunderland: Burge, McLaughlin, O’Nien, Sanderson, Gooch (Leadbitter), Winchester, Power, Vokins (McFadzean), Diamond (Stewart), McGeady (Scowen), Wyke (Maguire) Substitutes not used: Matthews, Younger
Accrington Stanley: Savin, Rodgers, Burgess, Barclay, Nottingham, Hughes, Phillips (Russell), Morgan (Butcher), Charles, Smyth, McConville Substitutes not used: Isherwood, Maguire, Scully, Martin, Mansell
Len Ashurst handed Armstrong his debut at home to West Bromwich Albion exactly a month after the defeat in the Milk Cup final to Norwich City and he would go on to become one of Sunderland’s top ten all-time appearance makers, ending his time on Wearside with 416 outings for the Lads.
Armstrong’s eleven eventful years as a professional with Sunderland included three promotions, three relegations, a Play-Off final, a testimonial at Roker Park against Porto, and an FA Cup final. He was also the first Sunderland midfielder since Bobby Kerr to score 50 League goals for the club, which included a memorable last minute winner at Roker Park against Chelsea that took Sunderland to an FA Cup semi-final in 1992.
After leaving for Bury in 1996, Armstrong eventually joined Accrington Stanley in 2003, via five years with Burnley, where he made thirteen appearances in 2003-2004.
John Mullin was one of Peter Reid’s first signings for Sunderland in the summer of 1995 from Burnley. After making a handful of appearances during Sunderland’s promotion season in 1995-96, Mullin would go on to make ten Premier League appearances with a notable contribution of scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory at Roker Park over Manchester United.
He also had the honour of scoring the last ever goal at Roker Park when he scored the only goal in the ‘Farewell to Roker Park’ match against Liverpool in 1996. He eventually signed for Stanley via Rotherham United and Tranmere Rovers in 2008 where he made 32 appearances over the next two years. John Mullin is now an U18’s coach at Manchester City.
