David Prutton has made his score prediction ahead of Sunderland’s trip to Ipswich Town.
Sunderland will be looking to redeem themselves after a horrible 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the FA Cup last weekend.
The Black Cats headed into the Wear-Tyne derby in better form than their rivals, remaining unbeaten in their previous three matches.
However, the ‘gulf’ in quality between the two clubs was made very clear and Sunderland struggled to get a sniff of goal all game.
The club and manager have taken some deserved slack surrounding the defeat to Newcastle, however everyone will be desperate to move on in a positive manner as the Black Cats take to our TV screens tomorrow.
A surprise win for Sunderland could see them overtake West Brom in the Championship table, but defeat could result in them slipping out of the top six.
It’s certainly not the worst time to be playing Ipswich though. After an incredible start to their first season back in the second tier, Kieran McKenna’s side are enduring some difficult form at the moment.
Ipswich are without a win in their last five games in the Championship, drawing four of them, as well as being hammered 4-0 by Leeds United before Christmas.
The hosts will be eager to return to winning ways against Sunderland though, with the possibility of dropping out of the automatic spots looming over them.
Despite Sunderland’s difficulties at the weekend, David Prutton has predicted them to claim a 1-0 win over ‘nervy’ Ipswich on Saturday.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the former midfielder said: “Ipswich will be feeling nervy. They could find themselves out of the top two for the first time since September by kick-off at Portman Road, which felt unthinkable with the pace they were setting a few weeks ago.
“In league position, Sunderland are doing well, but that defeat to Newcastle will leave a cloud over the club and Michael Beale, and he’ll want to banish those memories instantly. Can they? I think they could take advantage of an edge Tractor Boys side here and nick it.”
Can Sunderland scrape a win?
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we actually did manage to nick a win against Ipswich Town tomorrow.
This season has see us claim maximum points against the likes of Leeds United, West Brom and Southampton, while we have failed to beat Rotherham, Plymouth and Huddersfield Town.
We are clearly much better against stronger opposition, and Ipswich’s run of five games without a win could really benefit us.
It really just depends how the team choose to bounce back from the Newcastle defeat though. A poor display again today could spark our own downfall and leave Michael Beale in a very concerning position.