Sunderland’s season is destined for the dreaded Championship play-offs, with some stellar competition ahead in their fight to earn Premier League promotion.
Sunderland are currently in an abnormal state of limbo in the present Championship promotion picture.
Regis Le Bris’ Black Cats sit cemented in fourth place, nine points adrift from the table’s second automatic spot, but also yield a 15-point advantage over Tony Mowbray’s West Brom who currently occupy the final play-off position in sixth.
Sunderland are set to face their former boss Mowbray at the Hawthorns this weekend as their play-off fate seems a mathematical inevitability this season.
As such, Sunderland AFC News takes a look at the three potential play-off opponents the Black Cats would hate to face and three that would have the Wearside faithful backing their side against over two legs to reach that illustrious Wembley showpiece.
Sunderland’s three best possible play-off opponents
West Brom
Starting with Saturday’s opponents, West Brom are firmly in contention for a top-six finish under Mowbray, as he did so with Sunderland only two seasons ago.
Despite their evident quality, Sunderland are unbeaten in their past four meetings with the Baggies and have taken 10 points from a possible 12 in the process.
Former Sunderland striker Josh Maja, who dubiously departed the club for Bordeaux midway through their 2018/19 League One campaign, is also currently sidelined for West Brom and is in a race to be fit for the play-offs should the Baggies book their ticket.
Maja is currently the joint-third top goalscorer in the league this season, alongside Sunderland frontman Wilson Isidor, and his absence severely mitigates the Baggies as a threat.
It’s also worth noting West Brom have never gone up via the play-offs, so they will not fancy themselves on this path, even with Mowbray at the helm.
Middlesbrough
Regional rivals Middlesbrough are joint on points (57) with West Brom and could sneak into the play-off places late on. But, the Black Cats won’t be too concerned after this season’s results against Boro.
Sunderland beat Michael Carrick’s side at home 1-0 early in the season thanks to an audacious Chris Rigg backheel. In early February, the Black Cats were 3-2 victors in a thrilling clash, after an exemplary piece of skill from Enzo Le Fee forced Ryan Giles to convert into his own net.
Boro forwards such as Finn Azaz and Tommy Conway do bode a threat to any second tier backline, but having taken maximum points from their rivals this term, Sunderland would fancy their chances again.
Bristol City
Sunderland snatched an injury-time equaliser against Bristol City earlier in the season and are set to face Liam Manning’s side later this month.
If Bristol City surprisingly pip the likes of West Brom and Boro to a play-off face, the Black Cats should be fairly confident to succeed.
Manning’s side have been beaten by fellow promotion hopefuls Burnley of late and the Black Cats should have similar quality to the Clarets if they draw the Robins in the play-offs.
Sunderland’s three worst possible play-off opponents
Leeds
As of late, Leeds look as though they are ‘falling apart again’. Daniel Farke’s side have only managed to achieve 2-2 stalemates against Swansea and QPR in their last two outings, and as such, have lost crucial ground on current league leaders Sheffield United.
If the Whites falter further and are leapfrogged by Burnley come the end of the season, then they will be one of the standout favourites for play-off glory.
The Black Cats have taken only one point from six on offer against their historic rivals this term, and that was largely down to a last-minute Islan Meslier howler at the Stadium of Light.
Farke’s squad is littered with quality in all thirds of the pitch and as Sunderland saw first hand last month, they never know when they are beaten, and will be a mammoth task to overcome should they lock horns again in May.
Burnley
Currently, it is the Clarets and Leeds battling for the runner-up spot behind Sheffield United, and Burnley would be another mountain to climb for Sunderland. Scott Parker’s side have conceded an unimaginably low tally of 11 goals in 39 Championship affairs this season with the Clarets so hard to beat.
Although one of their few scalps this season came at the Stadium of Light, their most recent clash saw Wilson Isidor have two late penalties saved after James Trafford’s antics.
The hangover from that now infamous clash at Turf Moor, which resulted in Isidor apologising to the Sunderland fans for his calamity, could be a bad omen heading into the potential play-off clash for the Black Cats.
Coventry City
Sunderland’s historic ‘bogey team’ Coventry are also front-runners for a play-off position with Frank Lampard making an exceptional first impression at the Sky Blues.
In the final outing before the recent international break, Sunderland were beaten 3-0 at Coventry, in an uncharacteristically “lazy” display from Le Bris’ side.
The Black Cats have taken only two points from their last available 12 against Coventry and also yield a bizarrely high injury-rate against them across the last two campaigns.
Lampard’s in-form side, who have won 14 from 24 under the former Chelsea legend, and when taking recent outings into account would highlight another extremely difficult task for Sunderland as they hunt for promotion.
Sunderland possess play-off threats of their own
Ties against either of Leeds, Burnley or Coventry would send shivers down the spines of Sunderland supporters as the business end of the second tier season approaches.
However, Le Bris’ side have many weapons in their own arsenal, with some of the Championship’s finest available in every third of the pitch for the Black Cats.
With the litany of young talent and more seasoned gems such as Le Fee and Chris Mepham, no play-off candidate would be excited at the prospect of a double-header or Wembley showdown against Sunderland to decide their season.