Sunderland lost away at Huddersfield Town in the Championship last night, breaking an unwanted record in the process.
Sunderland now find themselves in 10th place of the Championship table after a 1-0 defeat against strugglers Huddersfield Town last night.
The Black Cats remain just a point outside the top six but after performances like last night’s, it’s difficult to see Michael Beale‘s side earning a play-off spot come May.
And Beale may quickly see all that early pressure pile back on if the club goes on a run of losses, with a trip to Tony Mowbray’s Birmingham City on Saturday set to be a feisty affair.
A win would ease a lot of fears and a slight sense of pressure on Beale, whose side have now lost twice in one league season against Huddersfield Town for the first time since 1961.
Sunderland set unwanted record in Huddersfield Town defeat
Huddersfield Town are enduring a poor season.
They’ve been hovering above the bottom three throughout but since sacking Darren Moore, the Terriers have taken six points from a possible nine after wins over Sheffield Wednesday and now Sunderland.
Huddersfield also won 2-1 at the Stadium of Light back in November, marking the first time they’ve done the league double over Sunderland in 63 years.
Michael Beale now facing crunch match vs Tony Mowbray
Beale was let down by a lot of players last night.
Several just weren’t up to it, but the Black Cats boss will quickly move on and turn his attentions to Mowbray’s Birmingham City.
Like Huddersfield, they too have seen an upturn in form in recent weeks, with Blues winning three of their opening seven games under the well-liked former Sunderland boss.
And for Beale who’s already endured some scathing Sunderland criticism, a loss against Mowbray following on from this poor Huddersfield defeat could reignite that early criticism.
It would be a stark warning for the club to now lose against a Birmingham City side who’ve been poor all season, and who are also managed by the person who Sunderland sacked just a few weeks ago.
Sunderland won the previous meeting this season 3-1 on Wearside with Jobe Bellingham on the scoresheet against his former club.
This weekend’s game will also see former Sunderland man Alex Pritchard line up against his old teammates for the first time.
Kick off is at 3pm on Saturday.