Roker Report Score Predictions 2022-23: Game 20 - Birmingham City vs Sunderland

Last time around...Sunderland 0-1 Cardiff City

In what was probably our poorest showing all season, the lads went down at home to Cardiff last weekend.

Tony Mowbray made a few changes, most notably in the middle of the park - probably to try and spice things up after certain players looked to have earned a shot. Likely also to give a couple of lads some rest after playing midweek in the previous game at Huddersfield, where we took a (now even more) vital 3 points.

Post the West Yorkshire win, the predictions lads were confident, though the away win was far from a perfect performance, a reflection most honest fans would agree with.

It doesn’t take the brains of a Mastermind champion to know the changes didn’t work. When it looked like not working from pretty early on, the coaching staff didn’t react soon enough or well enough for us to get something from the game either.

As a new team at this level, with a coach still early in his tenure and the injury woes we have to bear, we will have bad days, and this was one of those. We must brush ourselves down, learn lessons and move on to Birmingham away, which is live on Sky this evening. We have to hope that Tony and his lads can bounce back from that bad day at the office and get something from this last fixture before the World Cup pause.

Hopefully, the prospect of a week off and then a training camp in Dubai will inspire the lads to bounce back and grab all 3 available league points, building on their good away form this campaign, and entering the winter break on a high.

Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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Predictions League Table - after 19 games

No points were earned by any of the Predictions lads last game. Everyone was clearly way too bouyant after the decent but far from comprehensive 2-0 win against “The Terriers”.

So no changes in the Predictions league table, but there’s an opportunity for us all to grab some points and move up our little league before we all take a few weeks off from SAFC.

One more game before we get our snug-fitting England and/or Wales shirts out from the last Euros, ready for the global tournament to proceed.

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How the points are awarded...

Just a quick reminder on how we allocate points to our match-by-match predictions:

• Correct score = 3 points
• Correct outcome (but not correct score) = 1 point
• Correct first Sunderland goalscorer = 1 point (no goal scorer is a valid call)
• Possible deductions for being lazy and not submitting on time = TBC at Malc’s discretion…

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Malc Dugdale predicts...

Score Prediction: Birmingham City 0-2 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Patrick Roberts

I’m not really that sure why I’m going for this prediction!

Birmingham are a few places above us in the league, haven't lost at home since August, are unbeaten home or away in the last 4, and probably don’t have half of the injury issues we have.

Sunderland have just had a really disappointing home loss, which in truth should have been more than a 1-0 defeat. Though we finally have one striker back, we watched him look pretty ineffective in his first start for some weeks last time out. We have only won one in the last five games and only have four points from the last possible 15, but those three points were in our last away outing.

In short, this is Sunderland, and we are often decent away from home, so of course, I am going for a solid 2-0 away win. Our Paddy will resume his habit of showing us what he can do when he unleashes the dribbling beast that he is.

Nee bother… back to mid-table for the World Cup winter wander to Dubai. It’s a doddle this.

Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images

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Matty Foster predicts...

Score Prediction: Birmingham City 1-1 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Ellis Simms

For a team I half expected to take up one of the relegation places, Birmingham are performing well above par.

They sit tenth and have lost only one of their last eight games, so are starting to pick up some form.

For us, the less said about Cardiff the better. It was the worst performance so far, and our form is a bit all over the place at the minute.

I would love for us to win, but there’s a nagging feeling that it will be tough Friday night in the West Midlands. I don’t want to back us to lose, so a score draw it is, and we live in hope!

Photo by John Early/Getty Images

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Bomber Davies predicts...

Score Prediction: Birmingham City 1-1 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Jack Clarke

Well, the recent weeks really have deflated my balloon of optimism with a slow, farty raspberry.

It’s the last game before the World Cup break and one we could really do with winning. But over the last half-dozen games we have been… what over the last couple of seasons has been referred to as, doing a Sunderland!

Birmingham are playing us at the right time, while we could be playing anyone and it would be the wrong time! I’m not confident of getting anything at St Andrew's, but I can’t bear to think about another loss, so a 1-1 draw it is!

Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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Martin Wanless predicts...

Score Prediction: Birmingham City 0-1 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Amad

Admittedly, this comes from a place of hope and ‘wouldn’t it be nice to get a win before the World Cup break’, rather than anything else – but I do think we’re more suited to play away from home at present. We struggle to break teams down at home, whereas away we’re a danger on the break.

So, for that reason, I’m going – without much confidence – for a 1-0 smash and grab, with Amad getting the all-important goal. If we do get something from St Andrews, I think it’d round off a pretty satisfactory first stage of the season, all things considered.

Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

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Will Jones predicts...

Score Prediction: Birmingham City 1-2 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Alex Pritchard

The final game before the break is upon us and we need to go out with a bang.

Friday night, live on Sky to show all those kids going to Qatar why we will be signing them all in January.

We were poor again this last weekend and haven’t looked at the races since the squad has been depleted. We know what the lads can do and we need to get the points in thick and fast.

Birmingham are coming in off a last-minute equaliser midweek so could be tired but have confidence. I think it’s going to be a game of very few chances, but a game where both teams are clinical, a real nail-biter.

Photo by John Early/Getty Images

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Jack Howe-Gingell predicts...

Score Prediction: Birmingham City 1-2 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Ellis Simms

Off on my honeymoon during this one (Maldives bound) so will keep it simple.

We must play better than last time out - hopefully, we will put out a more balanced team and continue our decent away form. I fancy Simms to notch after his return from injury, and we’ll get that classic 1-2 win.

Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images