Sunderland may still be leading the way in the Championship but, ahead of Saturday’s trip to Millwall, can the Black Cats be considered underdogs against Neil Harris’ team?
Sunderland have failed to win – albeit while also avoiding defeat – in any of their last three league matches.
And with Alan Browne and Romain Mundle joining a long list of unavailables – Patrick Roberts, Trai Hume and Jobe Bellingham are suspended too – Regis Le Bris may have little choice but to shuffle his pack and put his faith in a few lesser-spotted players away at a Millwall side with four wins in five outings on home soil.
Still, even while the injuries and suspensions ramp up at the Stadium of Light, Millwall boss Neil Harris insists that Sunderland are top of the table for a reason.
The Wearsiders rank as far down as 13th in the ‘Expected Goals’ table. Thanks largely to the remarkable finishing of Wilson Isidor, Sunderland have scored a league-high 25 goals from an XG of just 18.
And despite the recent absence of goalkeeper Anthony Patterson – Simon Moore impressed Regis Le Bris in his absence – Sunderland have also conceded just 11 times from an XG of 16.
Millwall boss Neil Harris hails Championship leaders Sunderland
Harris believes that these statistical anomalies can be explained pretty easily.
Sunderland’s success at both ends of the pitch, he says, is the result of ‘some very good individual performances’ as well as a well-drilled, disciplined defensive set-up.
“You get 15 games into a season and you pretty much deserve to be where you are in the league,” Harris tells London News Online during his pre-match press conference.
“Do Sunderland deserve to be top on expected stats? No. But they have produced consistency over a period of time to win nine games. They have been difficult to beat and have a solid backline.
“Then, it is what you do in possession of the football. And what Sunderland have done is be well-drilled but also had some very good individual performances from players. That is what has won them the games.”
Isidor netted another Goal of the Season contender against Coventry before the November international break – Sunderland throwing away a 2-0 lead against the Sky Blues – while Chris Rigg, Jobe Bellingham, Patrick Roberts and Romain Mundle are all capable of winning games all on their own with a sprinkling of mercurial magic.
Of that aforementioned quintet, however, only Rigg and Isidor will be available against Millwall.
Millwall boss highlights impressive record against top teams
“We have been a really consistent team as a group for the last 13 fixtures, which has brought us success,” adds Harris, his team having taken seven points off Sunderland’s promotion rivals Leeds United, Burnley and West Brom already.
“We know the challenge. We’ve seen a lot of Sunderland over the last 10 days and we know what we face. But we also know what a tough opponent we are for anybody at the moment.
“We’ve shown that against Leeds and Burnley. We have shown it at West Brom and Stoke. We showed it at Swansea. They are all teams in the top half of the division that are on good runs and we’ve managed to more than match them We were better than the majority of them.
“Our challenge is making sure we replicate our form, our culture and performances – individually and collectively – from the last seven games into the next block of fixtures as well.”
Le Bris insisted that Sunderland will stick to their plan during his own his own pre-match discussion, the Black Cats having spent the last two weeks looking to recapture the form that lifted them five points clear at the top only a month ago.