Sunderland welcome Brighton to the Stadium of Light in the Premier League on Saturday, in a meeting between two sides hoping to move up into the top half of the table.
The hosts will be looking to bounce back after suffering a shock defeat to League One outfit Port Vale in the FA Cup last weekend, but are only four points adrift of seventh places Brentford and will be aiming to a make late push for European football next season.
Manager Regis Le Bris will be looking for his players to rediscover the “desire and fighting spirit” that he said was lacking in the FA Cup loss but that defined the first half of Sunderland’s season.
After a run of six league matches without a win during January and February, Brighton’s results have picked up in recent weeks, beating Brentford and Nottingham Forest before falling to a narrow 1-0 defeat to title-chasing Arsenal last time out.
Goals continue to be an issue for Fabian Hurzeler’s men, with the Seagulls having failed to score more than two goals in a match since early December.
However, history appears to be on the visitors’ side. Brighton are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League encounters with promoted clubs, having won five and drawn six.
Sunderland team news
The hosts make four changes to the starting line-up, with Trai Hume and Noah Sadiki returning to the team after serving suspensions.
Granit Xhaka makes his first start at the Stadium of Light since January, while Brian Brobbey returns from injury to make his first appearance since last month’s clash with Fulham.
Luke O’Nien and Eliezer Mayenda are named among the substitutes, while Enzo Le Fee and Nilson Angulo miss out through injury.
Dennis Cirkin is also named on the bench after recovering from an injury.
Sunderland XI: Ellborg; Geertruida, Ballard, Alderete, Hume; Xhaka, Sadiki; Diarra, Rigg, Talbi; Brobbey
Subs: Moore, Cirkin, O’Nien, Mayenda, Isidor, Jen. Jones, Jay. Jones, H. Jones, Whitaker
Brighton team news
For the visitors, Danny Welbeck, Lewis Dunk, James Milner and Yankuba Minteh all start from the off.
However, Kaoru Mitoma has failed to recover from an ankle injury so misses out, while Carlos Baleba is also absent.
Brighton XI: Verbruggen; Hinshelwood, Dunk, Van Hecke, Kadioglu; Wieffer, Milner, Gomez; Gross, Welbeck, Minteh
Subs: Steele, March, Rutter, Boscagli, Ayari, De Cuyper, O’Riley, Veltman, Howell
Where to watch Sunderland v Brighton
Sunderland versus Brighton kicks-off at 3pm UK time on Saturday. It is, therefore, unavailable to UK viewers due to domestic blackout rules.
If you don’t live in the UK, click HERE, to discover which station may be showing the game in your region.
Stats for Sunderland v Brighton
- Sunderland are hosting Brighton in the league for the first time in more than two decades. The last time the Seagulls traveled to the Black Cats was in October 2004, in the Championship, while the last time Sunderland welcomed Brighton in the top flight was in 1983.
- Brighton are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League games against promoted sides, having won five and drawn six, and kept a clean sheet in five of their last six.
- Sunderland have lost their last two Premier League home games, having been unbeaten in their first 12 this season.
