Sunderland head to The Hawthorns to face West Brom in the Championship on Saturday.
Sunderland are once again on the road this weekend, as the Black Cats head to the Black Country to face top six hopefuls West Brom.
The Sunderland owners would’ve been hoping that this coming fixture would be a crunch match near the top of the table.
But for Mike Dodds‘ side, the end of the season now has very little meaning, other than setting the club up for the summer and the next season.
Still, it’s not stopped Sunderland from giving it their all, nor has it stopped the fans from supporting their team.
Sunderland are set to be back by another sell-out crowd of more than 2,000 at The Hawthorns.
West Brom vs Sunderland H2H
Sunderland beat West Brom in the reverse fixture earlier this season.
Dodds was in charge for that game and he oversaw a 2-1 win at the Stadium of Light, courtesy of goals from Dan Ballard and Dan Neil.
In fact, Sunderland have won their last two games against the Baggies, with West Brom winning the previous two games before that.
In their club history, the Black Cats have beaten West Brom 59 times, losing 56, and drawing 44.
Sunderland have only won at The Hawthorns once since 2007 though, with that victory coming last season.
Dennis Cirkin nets brace in West Brom 1-2 Sunderland
Tony Mowbray fronted the win against his former club last season.
Though it wasn’t plain sailing.
Almost a year ago to the day, Sunderland headed to The Hawthorns and found themselves a goal behind going into half-time, owing to a John Swift penalty on the cusp of half-time.
But the Black Cats, on their way to sealing an unexpected top six finish, mounted a ‘stunning’ second half comeback, with Dennis Cirkin scoring both the goals.
He neatly headed home a Lynden Gooch cross for the first and then finished off a likewise team move for the late winner, sealing a ‘stunning‘ comeback.
Mike Dodds needs some Tony Mowbray magic against West Brom
Dodds’ men go into this game in quite good form.
That draw against Leeds United in midweek now means Sunderland have lost just one of their last five, albeit winning only one, with four clean sheets.
They’ve shown in their last two games against Bristol City and then Leeds that they can actually defend very well, though they’re still missing a spark in attack.
Jack Clarke remains on the comeback trail and hopefully he’ll be edging closer to 100%, just in time to help Sunderland finish the season strongly.
But it’ll be difficult against a West Brom side sitting in 5th and looking to consolidate their place in the top six.
Carlos Corberan’s men have lost just one of their last 13 Championship games.
Kick off is at 3pm on Saturday.