Sunderland Face Hull City at Stadium of Light.

Sunderland host Hull City this weekend in a game that both sides will be looking to win if either are to kick-start their season.

Sunderland will be looking for the three points to help close the gap that has now opened up, if David Moyes can get his players fired up for the game and they manage to pull off the win, the gap will narrow to just three points between themselves and seventeenth place that the Tigers occupy and that can only inspire the side and fans alike.

Moyes must be thinking that this weekend could see his side win back to back games for the first time this season, Hull have only picked up anything from just two of their last nine games, unfortunately, they won on their last outing before the international break, but so did Sunderland.

But even with that win, Moyes is still finding it difficult to win a lot of the fans over with many calling for recently sacked England manager Sam Allardyce to be brought back to the club, but the facts remain that Moyes is here for the long term and the sooner fans get used to that and get behind him, the better.

Hull come to the Stadium of Light looking to improve on their impressive win over Southampton last time out. If they grab the points they will be lifted closer to a mid-table spot, but defeat is unthinkable for the Black Cats.



Teams….

Sunderland have suffered another blow as Lee Cattermole has been ruled out of action for three months.

Speaking at this morning’s press conference David Moyes said: “Lee Cattermole had an operation in America on Monday on a torn cartilage in his hip and will be out for four months. He’s out there just now, coming back in the next day or two, I think.

“It’s a big blow because we have had hernias, we have had epidurals, we have had other things done but, by all accounts, we have found a tear in his cartilage in his hip which has now been repaired.”
(More Sunderland news to follow)

Hull will be without strikers Will Keane, Abel Hernandez and Adama Diomande for Saturday’s game.

Keane has knee ligament damage, Hernandez is still out with a groin complaint while Diomande serves the last game of a three-match ban.

Midfielder Shaun Maloney is also out, he has a back injury but Mike Phelan will include teenage striker Jarrod Bowen in his squad.

Stats….

Sunderland haven’t won any of their last four against the Tigers (D1 L3).

Hull City haven’t won three successive away games against Sunderland since April 1972.

Defoe’s next goal will be his 150th in the Premier League and he would become the eighth player to reach this landmark in Premier League history.

Sunderland need one more point to surpass 600 points in the Premier League.

Both of these sides have scored just two first-half goals all season in the Premier League.

Officials….

Referee: Lee Mason
Linesmen: A Nunn and S Ledger
Fourth Official: C Pawson

Match Day referee Mason has officiated six games in 2016/17 with a return of 23 yellow cards and zero red cards.

His highest card count this season was seven yellows in the game between West Bromwich Albion and Manchester City in October.

He took in 34 matches in 2015-16 and in those games, across all competitions and football divisions, he handed out a total of 96 yellow cards and three red cards.

He was most card happy in the match between Derby and Sheffield Wednesday in April with a total of nine yellows being shown. The Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough game in September saw eight yellows.