Roker Report Score Predictions: Can Sunderland pick up where they left off in League One?

Last Time Out...

Only Matthew picked up points for the result – he not only backed the draw but also gained an extra point for going one step further and saying we would win through on penalties. By also picking Charlie Wyke to score he was the biggest winner of the week, moving up to joint second behind our leader Jack.

Today’s Game...

Universal backing for a Sunderland victory among our panel ahead of our trip to Burton Albion. The only surprise is maybe that not everyone has gone for Charlie Wyke to open the scoring.

We’ll let our panel explain why they all think Sunderland are in for a comfortable afternoon, in this round of predictions...

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Philip Butler Predicts...

Score Prediction: Burton Albion 1 - 2 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Charlie Wyke

After a thrilling 4-1 win last weekend was followed by reaching a Wembley final and a takeover by a 23-year-old billionaire, there’s a chance that this afternoon’s game could turn into an after the Lord Mayor’s show come down in typical Sunderland fashion.

However, I’m going to banish the negativity until at least 5 o’clock tonight and back Lee Johnson’s men to man the barricades successfully against our bogey team.

Messrs Wyke and McGeady have linked up for our last five goals in all competitions, and who am I to predict that run will come to an end here? Another two for Charles Thomas Wyke to continue to push Harry Kane off the plane for Euro 2020 with a goal conceded because it surely can’t be that easy, can it.

Vive la Sunderland!

Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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Malcolm Dugdale Predicts...

Score Prediction: Burton Albion 1 - 3 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Aiden McGeady

The week is not allowed to end any way other than with a win, given the Wembley booking and the new ownership announcement.

McGeady fired in a few stingers before he provided the equaliser for Wyke against Lincoln, so I’m backing provider to turn scorer in this next fixture.

With the back line in so much disarray I am not sure we will keep a clean sheet, but we simply have to round off a great week with a convincing win away to Burton to build momentum and get back into the top six. However you say “Ha’way the lads” in French, let’s have loads of that please.

Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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Matthew Foster Predicts...

Score Prediction: Burton Albion 0 - 3 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Charlie Wyke

The Brewers looked dead and buried coming into the new year, and even the return of Hasselbaink was met with a 5-1 pasting at home to Oxford.

That was their fifth straight defeat, with 19 (NINETEEN) goals conceded and you could’ve been forgiven for writing them off.

However, they’ve won three of their last four, keeping three clean sheets and conceding a single goal. Form you’d rather not see when they’re next up.

Add to that Burton have become a bogey team of sorts, as we have failed to beat them in our last five meetings.

Nevertheless I’m feeling confident after last Saturday, with the combination of Geads and Wyke likely to be enough to break Burton in two, and take all three points from the Pirelli Stadium.

Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images

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Jack Howe-Gingell Predicts...

Score Prediction: Burton Albion 0 - 2 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Charlie Wyke

Tell me ma, me ma... putting our most recent Wembley booking to one side, the league campaign continues with a trip to the Pirelli Stadium.

Burton are rock bottom of League One but have back-to-back wins, including a 1-0 win over Hull, so will still need to be watched carefully.

Kane Hemmings and Lucas Akins are likely to be their main threat and concerns at centre back for Sunderland following Bailey Wright’s withdrawal from Wednesday’s fixture, may provide them some joy.

Really though, we need to be sweeping Burton aside. They are bottom of the league and we need to maintain pressure on the top six following our galvanising victory over Doncaster.

I fancy us to get the job done with a no frills performance. Ballon d’Or nominee Charlie Wyke to notch first.

Photo by Chris Vaughan - CameraSport via Getty Images

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Will Jones Predicts...

Score Prediction: Burton Albion 0- 2 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Aiden McGeady

What a week eh?

Well lads, back to reality and back to Burton. A team in transition on the pitch with 11 new signings since the turn of the year and a scary prospect indeed.

JFH and his staff have had five games in charge in which they have won 3 and kept 3 clean sheets. One of which against Hull City.

With them having a week off I believe we need to be wary, they are confident, fresh and on home turf. With LJ stating our team’s fatigue was showing visibly midweek, and Bailey Wright probably not being risked, it will be hard, a real team effort, but one that will take guts and heart.

I believe we have that, we all saw the emotion when Grant scored that penalty. Show it for another 90 lads. Come on.

Photo by Mark Fletcher/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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Martin Wanless Predicts...

Score Prediction: Burton Albion 1-3 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Charlie Wyke

While Wednesday night wasn’t exactly ‘The Lord Mayor’s Show’, we’ve got to ensure that the Burton Albion game isn’t that typical one that tends to follow it. Whatever it really is.

I’m hopeful that the carrot of a Wembley appearance will act as an incentive for the lads – it needs to, given we have six league games to play in between now and then. Get a minimum of 14 points from them, and I think we’ll go up.

That starts with Burton, and we need to start with three points. Which I think we will. Well, we need to.

As far as first goalscorer goes there’s only one player to back – which is a concern in itself. Hopefully someone else weighs in with the other two after big Charlie’s notched the first!