The visitors are currently occupying third spot in the English second tier standings, having collected 39 points from 23 games, while the Black Cats are sitting ten places behind them, with eight points less.
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Blackburn Rovers will travel to the Stadium of Light to take on Sunderland in an EFL Championship fixture on Saturday. The Rovers are heading into the match on the back of a disappointing 4-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest in an EFL Cup fixture in the mid-week, while Sunderland played out a 1-1 draw away to Hull City in a Championship game last Saturday. The visitors are currently occupying third spot in the English second tier standings, having collected 39 points from 23 games, while the Black Cats are sitting ten places behind them, with eight points less.
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) December 23, 2022
Sunderland shared the spoils against Hull City despite taking the lead through Ross Stewarts’s 74th-minute strike. Tony Mowbray’s side played with a man less for the final half-hour after Elliot John Embleton received a red card. The Rovers, on the other hand, got the better of Norwich City in their previous Championship-game on December 17, courtesy of Ben Gibson’s 4th-minute own goal and Tyrhys Dolan’s strike, four minutes from time. It was the Blue and Whites’ 13th-league win of the season, while they have lost their other 10 games. Meanwhile, the worrying thing for head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson would be his side’s defence, which has conceded 13 times in their last five competitive games across all competitions. Therefore the Danish tactician is well aware that he has plenty of work ahead if Rovers are to remain in contention for automatic promotion against the odds.
Sunderland defender Danny Batth is sidelined with a calf injury, while midfielder Eliot Embleton is unavailable for Monday’s game, because of a red card suspension. Meanwhile Dan Ballard has recovered from a foot injury and is likely to make his return. As for Blackburn, Tomasson, who had rested many of his regular players for the Cup fixture this Wednesday, is likely to revert back to his best playing eleven for the Boxing Day game. Daniel Ayala, Tyler Morton and Sam Gallagher are all expected to return to the playing eleven against the Black Cats.
Sunderland probable starting lineup: Patterson, Gooch, O-Nien, Ballard, Alese, Evans, Neil, Diallo, Roberts, Clarke, Stewart
Blackburn Rovers probable starting lineup: Kaminski, Ayala, Hyam, Pickering, Rankin-Castello, Morton, Buckley, Dack, Dolan, Brereton,-Diaz, Gallagher
Sunderland
| Opponents | Score |
| Hull City | 1-1 (D) |
| West Brom | 1-2 (L) |
| Millwall | 3-0 (W) |
| Al Shabab | 0-1 (W) |
| Birmingham | 1-2 (W) |
Blackburn Rovers
| Opponents | Score |
| Nottingham Forest | 1-4 (L) |
| Norwich City | 0-2 (W) |
| Preston | 1-4 (L) |
| Ajax | 0-2 (W) |
| Hearts | 4-0 (W) |
| Last 5 match results | Score |
| Blackburn beat Sunderland | 2-0 |
| Blackburn beat Sunderland | 2-0 |
| Sunderland beat Blackburn | 2-1 |
| Sunderland beat Blackburn | 3-0 |
| Blackburn draw Sunderland | 0-0 |
The EFL Championship match between Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers will take place at the Stadium of Light on Monday at 6:00 pm IST.
| Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers | Key Details |
| Date | December 26 |
| Venue | Stadium of Light |
| Kickoff time in the UK | 12:30 pm |
| Kickoff time in India | 06:00 pm |
For the football fans in the UK, live telecast of the match will be available on Sky Go Extra, Talksport 2 Radio UK, Sky Ultra HD, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football and Sky Showcase.
