Sunderland AFC v Walsall Preview & Match Thread

www.safc.com/news/team-news/2019/march/team-news-v-walsall


Duo set to return

Jack Ross will have Tom Flanagan and Reece James at his disposal once again this weekend.

The defensive duo missed Sunderland’s midweek stalemate at Barnsley through injury.

Flanagan was ruled out with concussion after taking a heavy knock to the head in last Saturday’s draw at Wycombe Wanderers while James also picked up a niggle which kept him out of the trip to Oakwell.

However, following a period of recovery time at the Academy of Light, the duo are in good shape to return to action.

“We have no new injury concerns,” Ross said.

“We had a number unavailable for our midweek trip to Barnsley, but we have since had Tom Flanagan, George Honeyman and Reece James join back in with training.

“George continues to be out through suspension, but Reece and Tom are back fit and training.”

He continued: “At this stage of the season the pressure increases all the time as the games become less. You have to be at your freshest, both physically and mentally. There’s a variance of the teams I’ve played this season, some I didn’t play at the start of the season, but I play now.

“It’s a case of managing the players through this period and there will be times when that’s reflected in my team selection and times when it will be reflected by the players who are fit and healthy to play.

“We have nine games in a very short space of time after the cup final and we are going to need all of the squad very much to help us get through that period.”

Played Walsall three times already this season & been awful all three times. Looking back it seems that the Walsall manager was the first to suss out how Ross wanted to play & set his team out accordingly.

Ross didn't learn from the league game, nor the first game in the cup. I sincerely hope he's able to come up with something for this game.

www.safc.com/news/team-news/2019/march/ross-preview-walsall




MANAGER'S VIEW: 'We need to be winning games ' - Ross

Jack Ross has admitted with just 10 Sky Bet League One games left Sunderland must start winning.

Tickets for Sunderland v Walsall are on sale now.

30 points are all that’s left to play for as the race for promotion cranks up a notch, with the visit of Walsall this Saturday to the Stadium of Light.

Kicking off at 3pm, the Black Cats face a Saddlers side who they’ve failed to beat in three attempts so far this season but knowing they can’t afford to lose any ground on the top two sides – Luton Town and Barnsley – if they are to secure an immediate return to the Championship.

Back-to-back draws – against Wycombe Wanderers and the Tykes - have stretched the lads’ unbeaten run to 18 games in all competitions, but it’s meant no ground has been made up on the automatic places.

Speaking at Thursday’s pre-match press conference, Ross was honest in his answer when questioned about this weekend’s meeting with Walsall and Sunderland’s run-in.

"It is just the same as every other team in this league,” he said.

“They will try to combat what we do well and then it is just about finding ways of doing what we do well to the best of our abilities or find different ways to win games.

"This season has 12 or 13 teams that still have a realistic chance of being relegated which means there are an awful lot of teams with stuff to play for.

"Walsall fall into that bracket as well.

"When you look at the number of teams in this league it is unusual to be in mid-March and have only a couple of exceptions who know they have very little to play for.

"As time goes on that number will decrease but it means the competitive nature of the games will remain high between now and May.

"When you manage this club there is an expectation that you win every week. There is a belief that you win every week. There is a hope that you win every week.

"So for me, nothing really changes,” he continued.

"The consequences, perhaps, become more acute but we know at this stage of the season to achieve what we want, we need to be winning games.

"That starts on Saturday, particularly now we are going into a period where we don't play a league game for a number of weeks after that.”

"We need to be winning games" - Ross

Do you think the penny has only just dropped 🙄

www.safc.com/news/club-news/2019/march/corals-betting-preview-v-walsall



Coral's Walsall betting preview

The midweek draw at Barnsley was something of an opportunity missed but Sunderland have got a great chance to put three points on the board at home to relegation threatened Walsall on Saturday!

Let’s follow the smart money and see what’s happening at the club’s official betting partners at Coral.

Unsurprisingly the Black Cats are big favourites at 1/2 to win the match, or you can back the Lads at 6/4 to win 2-0 and 23/10 to win with both teams scoring.

Will Grigg has scored once in his opening four appearances at the Stadium of Light and you can back him to hit form in emphatic fashion with 40/1 for a hat-trick!

Coral have a Smart Boost on the match with 13/2 on Sunderland to win 1-0.

Looking at some other Correct Scores, 2-0 Sunderland pays 6/1, 2-1 Sunderland pays 7/1 or you can back a 3-2 home win at 25/1.

Expecting goals? Back +2.5 goals at 4/5, +3.5 at 19/10 or if you think we’ll see a goal-fest back +5.5 goals at 11/1!

For your own unique bet combining multiple match scenarios, tweet your own bet #YourCall @coral, or choose from the existing #YourCall markets already priced up by Coral.

Example: Lynden Gooch to score anytime, Sunderland to win and Both teams to score @ 8/1.

Don’t forget you get a 10% bonus on your winning accumulator bets with Coral’s Acca Bonus. Land a winning acca with 4+ selections, and they boost your winnings by an extra 10%, up to £100.

If you don’t yet have a Coral account, take advantage of their Bet £10 Get £30 offer, exclusive to new customers – bet £10 on any football match and get another 3 x £10 bets for football.

rokerreport.sbnation.com/2019/3/16/18255959/three-walsall-players-for-sunderland-to-watch-out-for-including-a-big-horrible-geordie-striker



THREE Walsall players for Sunderland to watch out for - including a big horrible Geordie striker


Andy Cook

League One Games/Goals: 34/11

As a die-hard Newcastle United fan (well, someone has to be), Cook will be fired up at the Stadium of Light - and based on his goal tally this season he’s the most likely Walsall player to hit the back of Jon McLaughlin’s net.

He’s not the first League One striker we’ve described as big, burly and aggressive and he certainly won’t be the last, but that’s exactly the challenge that the Geordie presents to the Wearside defence - and with 16 (11 in the League) goals to his name for a side sitting dangerously close to the relegation places, it’s fair to say hope of avoiding the drop likely rest on Cook’s shoulders.

He scored against us in the FA Cup already this season as Tom Flanagan and Jack Baldwin struggled to contain him in the FA Cup second round, so Jack Ross will be hopeful new recruit Jimmy Dunne will fair better in what will be a physical battle at the back for the Lads.

Zeli Ismail

League One Games/Goals: 24/3

Whilst many teams in League One focus on team ethic rather than individual brilliance, Ismail is Dean Keates’ secret weapon - that one player with that little bit of quality that can unlock defences and turn a game on its head.

Highly rated as a teenager, Ismail climbed through the ranks in Wolverhampton Wanderers’ academy and was touted as the next potential star to emerge from the Midlands, with his former academy manager Chris Evans commenting that he could “see enormous money being spent on Zeli.”

Whilst his huge potential simply hasn’t been reached yet, his ability when he’s in the mood sets him apart from the majority of his team mates and makes him a key man that will have to be kept quiet if we are to stop the supply to top-scorer Andy Cook.

In the return fixture at the Bescott Stadium he certainly showcased his talent as he gave Reece James a difficult afternoon during our 2-2 draw. Hopefully James will be able to use the experience of playing against him for the fourth time this season and keep him at bay.

Liam Kinsella

League One Games/Goals: 22/0

Son of former Charlton Atheltic captain Mark, the 23-year-old is able to operate in midfield or at full back.

Well known by us Lads fans already as the man who scored the screamer that knocked us out of the FA Cup, he is having a standout season for the Saddlers and his performances have caught the attention of clubs further up the pyramid.

Whilst he stayed in the Midlands, approaches were reportedly knocked back during the January transfer window from clubs in the Championship in the hope that holding onto their star players would enable a late push for the play-offs. Unfortunately for Walsall and Kinsella, their form has dipped even further and it’s looking more like a battle to avoid the drop.

Despite that, Kinsella has already shown this season he is a potential Championship player in the making and, with his contract up in six months, he’ll be desperate to impress and will present Lee Cattermole with a stern test in the middle of the park.

No place for Oviedo again today.

Might as well have sold him in January 😡