Sunderland v Manchester City
Football : England, Premier League 2009/2010
Sunday, 14th March 2010 - Kickoff 4pm

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Sunderland

Sunderland cooled the heat that was building on manager Steve Bruce by picking up a priceless 3 points in their 4-0 win over Bolton on Wednesday night. This has given them a bit of breathing space after relegation concerns but there is still work to do with only 6 points the gap to the sides in the relegation zone.

The Black Cats must have felt they had been crossed by many black cats after a really disappointing run in the League until their win in midweek. It pushed Sunderland up to 13th in the Premier League and a gap of 6 points to the trapdoor that leads to the Championship. They are 6-6-2 at home this season, scoring 23 goals and conceding just 14.

Sunderland may have only lost 1 of their last 6 in the Premier League but 4 of those matches were draws which was slowly seeing them slip to the bottom of the table. The win over Bolton in midweek was their first at the Stadium of Light in 7 games since beating Arsenal 1-0. They will hope to continue a strong defensive run there, keeping clean sheets in 3 of their last 4 at home in the League.

Lorik Cana is out through suspension and Lee Cattermole, Kieran Richardson and Jordan Henderson are all doubtful. David Meyler is available after serving a suspension.

Manchester City

Manchester City haven't played since their 2-4 win at Chelsea put their season back on track. Roberto Mancini has been under a little bit of pressure after being beaten in the Carling Cup Semi Finals and then losing at Stoke City in the FA Cup. Anything less than a top 4 finish may cost him his job this season I fear.

City are 5th in the table coming into this weekend, but now find themselves 3 points behind Tottenham who hold 4th at the moment since they won against Blackburn on Saturday. City do have a couple games in hand over Spurs but will want to improve their 4-6-4 record away from home. They have scored 22 goals on their travels this season but have also conceded 21.

They had failed to win any of their last 4 games before beating Chelsea last time out. City had been struggling away from home, and that was their first win away from home in 5 games against top flight clubs in all competitions. It has been 7 games since Manchester City kept a clean sheet away from home.

Emmanuel Adebayor remains suspended but Patrick Vieira is back in the squad. Michael Johnson and Martin Petrov are out but Kolo Toure could be back in the team after recovering from an injury.

Head to Head

Surprisingly, Manchester City have won 9 games in a row against Sunderland at home and away and also won 10 of their last 11.

City have won 4 in a row at the Stadium of Light and all of those games have ended with more than 2 goals.

Prediction

The pressure must have eased a little bit at the Stadium of Light after their recent win but they need to build on the momentum they could have picked up to ensure survival. A lot of managers believe 37 points are going to be enough for survival this season, so Sunderland need 7 points from somewhere.

Manchester City got a vital win last time out at Chelsea and will need to continue with their away form if they wish to end in the top 4 this season. They have a difficult run in so games like this are vitally important to pick up maximum points if the top 4 is a realistic ambition for them.

I can see goals in this match and that is why I think there is a little value in taking the 2.1 that is readily available for the over 2.5 goals. I do expect both sides to score so that looks like it could be a solid price in the end.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Sunderland 2-2 Manchester City

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Over 2.5 goals