Match Preview: Sunderland v Preston North End - all you need to know ahead of kick-off!

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Saturday 1st October 2022

(6th) Sunderland v Preston North End (15th)

Championship

Stadium of Light

Kick-Off: 15:00

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Tickets & Match Coverage

Tickets: Tickets on sale via www.safc.com.

TV/Stream: Full live match coverage available via www.safc.com to residents outside the UK and Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man only.

Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online)

Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the game on the Roker Report Twitter feed (@RokerReport) and check out the player ratings after the full-time whistle at www.RokerReport.com!

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The build-up...

We’re back after the international break with two games on home soil in four days and first up, we face Preston North End, who we’ve only beaten once in four attempts at the Stadium of Light. We have to go back to 2004 when we last beat Preston on Wearside, with a brace from Stephen Elliott helping us to collect all three points.

Even though a brief glance at the table would suggest that we’re favorites, there is still only three points separating the two sides, where even looking down to Birmingham City in 17th is still only three points behind the Lads.

As impressive as out start to this season has been so far, we are still yet to put two successive victories together and the next four days provides a perfect opportunity to do so. A potential six-point haul in four days would set us up very nicely going into a busy schedule ahead of the World Cup.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

This is Preston’s eighth season in the Championship since promotion from League One in 2015 and it has so far been seven years of consolidation. Finishing between a high of 7th and a low of 14th has on one hand been an achievement, but on the other increases hopes of ending up with a top-six finish.

Ryan Lowe was appointed manager in December 2021 after impressing at Plymouth Argyle and Bury before that, but so far things haven’t changed all that much.

Preston were around 15th in the table when he joined the club, and finished 13th last season, and after ten games this term, they sit in 15th position.

But, in terms of the game this afternoon, Preston will take hope from the fact that not only is there only three points between the two sides, but they still remain unbeaten away from home, where they are also yet to concede in the four games so far.

Photo by Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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The betting...

The bookies have the Lads as favourites this afternoon at 13/10 for the home win, with Preston priced at 21/10 to pick up all three points and the draw is 11/5.

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Head to head... at Sunderland

(All competitions)

• Sunderland wins: 37
• Draws: 16
• Preston wins: 6
• Sunderland goals: 114
• Preston goals: 55

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Last time we met... at Sunderland

Saturday 17th March 2018

Championship

Sunderland 0-2 Preston North End

[Maguire 50’, Robinson 63’]

Sunderland: Camp, Matthews, Kone, O’Shea, Clarke-Salter, Oviedo, Cattermole, Honeyman (Lua Lua), Ejaria (McNair), Asoro, Maja (Fletcher) Substitutes not used: Stryjek, Robson, McManaman, McGeady

Preston: Maxwell, Fisher, Earl, Pearson, Huntingdon, Davies, Barkhuizen (Bodin), Gallagher (Johnson), Maguire, Browne, Robinson (Harrop) Substitutes not used: Hudosn, Clarke, Woods, Moult

Attendance: 28,543

Photo by Jonathan Hobley - Camerasport/CameraSport via Getty Images

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Played for both...

Ross Wallace

Joined the Lads in 2006 when Roy Keane snapped him up from Celtic in that crazy transfer deadline only days after Keane took the job.

Wallace scored some vital goals on our way to the Premier League and spent three years on Wearside before joining Preston in 2009. After a year at Deepdale, Wallace joined rivals Burnley before moving to Sheffield Wednesday in 2015 and retired in 2020 after spells with Fleetwood Town and St Mirren.

Photo by Mike Egerton - PA Images via Getty Images

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