Sunderland will be facing an uphill task when Manchester City come visiting the Stadium of Light on Sunday. City are currently in third place and have scored 10 goals in their last two matches. On the other hand, the Black Cats are languishing at the bottom of the table and pressure will be on David Moyes who hasn’t really managed to get the best out of his side.
Sunderland will heavily rely on Jermain Defoe who has netted eight goals till now in his career against Manchester City. But it won’t be easy for City as the onus will be on them to score. Sunderland will try to build an attack with Defoe leading the line and a point against the Citizens would be a great boost to their Premier League campaign. With a number of players currently injured, Adnan Januzaj and Fabio Borini have to take additional responsibilities. The Black Cats haven’t won against City in the last six matches but will have a point to prove.
Predicted 4-4-2 Sunderland Lineup To Get Past Manchester City
Defence
Jordan Pickford is back from the injury and will be the wall in front of the Sunderland goal. The England U-21 keeper is having a brilliant season. Moyes will once again expect his best player after Defoe to keep the City attackers at bay.
Lamine Kone and John O’Shea are set to continue at the heart of the Sunderland defence. Kone has scored a number of goals last season and was solid defensively but this season hasn’t been the same. But Moyes will expect an improved display from the Ivory Coast international.
Billy Jones will start at right back. Jones has been pretty decent for the Black Cats and will maintain his place in the starting lineup.
Bryan Oviedo is a natural choice on the other side of the defence.
Midfield
Sebastian Larsson will be on the left side of the midfield. The 31-year-old is a very tricky customer to handle. Larsson is very good at set pieces and Manchester City defence will have to be very careful before committing a foul in and around the box.
Darron Gibson and Didier Ndong will be in the Sunderland midfield. Ndong has been very good and we can expect a good duel against Yaya Toure.
Manchester United loanee Adnan Januzaj has the spark to shine and has shown his glimpse of talent this season.
Attack
Moyes will opt for a two man striking line consisting of Jermain Defoe and Fabio Borini. The 34-year-old has already scored 41 goals and would be very keen to add a few more in the Premier League.
