Our prediction for this FA Cup match:
Shrewsbury Town and Sunderland will be vying for a place in the FA Cup last 32 when they take on each other at Greenous Meadow on Saturday afternoon. The Shrews suffered a heavy 3-0 loss to Fleetwood at the weekend, with the team extending their losing run in the League One to three matches. The hosts are desperate to claim a major scalp in the FA Cup, but they face a difficult task against the Championship side. Captain Luke Leahy is available for selection after his red card was overturned, but Matthew Pennington is banned for the match.
The Black Cats, on the other hand, head into the match following a 1-1 draw with Blackpool. Sunderland are eyeing promotion to the Premier League, but they want to go all the way in the FA Cup as well. Sunderland are more of a team than Shrewsbury, and we predict that the visitors are going to advance to the FA Cup round 4. All Alese, Batth, Cirkin, Embleton, Gooch, Huggins, and Pritchard have been struggling with injuries of late.
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.