Our prediction for this Championship match:
Sunderland and Southampton take on each other at Stadium of Light in Saturday’s matinee in what promises to be an exciting Championship game. The Black Cats have been showing signs of improvement of late, with the team beating Rotherham at home, while holding Coventry City to a draw on the road and they are surely capable of matching the Saints in round 5. There are no fresh injury worries in the home team, but all Jay Matete, Aji Alese, Corry Evans, and Ross Stewart remain on the sidelines with injuries.
Southampton, on the other hand, aim to build on back-to-back wins over Plymouth and Queens Park Rangers. As the promotion hopefuls are likely to stick to their attacking style of play, we believe that there is a big value in betting on both teams to score. Both Will Smallbone and Juan Larios are out of contention with injuries for the away team.
Highlighted Player (Alex Pritchard):
Born on the 3rd of May, 1993, Alex Pritchard is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Huddersfield Town in the Championship. The English International has represented his nation at the under-20 and under-21 level, making his debut for the latter against Lithuania on the 5th of September, 2014.
The Orsett local began his club career at West ham's academy but later joined the Tottenham Hotspur academy in 2009. After establishing himself in the reserves, Pritchard signed his first professional contract with the club in 2011. However, he only ever made two appearances for the club, spending most of his time out on loan. Pritchard's first professional appearance came on the 2nd of February, 2013, in a 2-2 draw, playing in a Championship game for Peterborough United.
His primary professional goal meanwhile came playing for Swindon Town in August 2013, in a 2-0 league cup win over QPR. Further Loan stints at Brentford and West Brom succeeded his time at Swindon before he finally left spurs permanently to sign for Norwich City in 2016 on a four-year deal. A couple of seasons later, in 2018, Norwich sold the 26-year-old to Huddersfield, where he is currently on a three-and-a-half-year contract.
Highlighted Team (Sunderland):
Sunderland are a professional football club that have been playing their home games at the Stadium of Light since 1997. The capacity of the stadium is 49,000, but before expansion the original ground capacity was 42,000. Red and White shirts are Sunderland’s trademark and the club’s fiercest rivals are Newcastle United. The two local rivals have been contesting in the Tyne-Wear derby since 1898 and there have always been fireworks in what is one of the greatest derbies in English football. Sunderland were on the verge of dropping to the Championship in the 2015/2016 Premier League campaign, but experienced tactician Sam Allardyce eventually helped the team avoid relegation.
The Black Cats have won six First Division trophies (now the Premier League), with the team lifting two FA Cup titles. Sunderland won their first FA Cup trophy in 1937, with the team beating Preston North End 3-1 in the title game. The club was founded in 1879 as Sunderland and District Teachers A.F.C.