Sunderland vs Bristol City Prediction: Black Cats to win again

Sunderland got back to winning ways at the weekend as they defeated Stoke City 2-1 in the Championship. It ended a six-game run without a victory, which had dented their momentum in the promotion race. They welcome Bristol City to the Stadium of Light on Tuesday (19:45, Sky Sports+), hoping to regain that momentum.

The Robins head here after being beaten 3-0 by Portsmouth last time out, so they will be looking for an instant response on Wearside. Read on for my Sunderland vs Bristol City prediction, featuring the latest match odds and team news.

Sunderland vs Bristol City Odds

Sunderland are 19/20 to claim a second consecutive victory here, which gives them a theoretical chance of 51.3%. Bristol City are valued at 3/1 to take the three points, which would be their fourth away win at the 11th attempt. This gives them an implied probability of 25%.

The draw is on offer at 12/5 (29.4%), which has struck on six occasions for the hosts and seven for the visitors.

Both teams to score has been a winning selection in four of the Robins' 10 away games so far, and it is priced at 10/11 to land on Tuesday. Over 2.5 goals can be backed at 11/10, which has struck on four occasions at the Stadium of Light already this term.

Bristol City's Anis Mehmeti has scored six goals in the league this season and he is 18/5 to score anytime in this clash.

Football Odds

Team News

Sunderland's two main absentees at the moment are Alan Browne, who has a broken leg, and Romaine Mundle, who is out with a hamstring problem. Boss Regis Le Bris is going to be without them for the busy festive period and they are not expected back in contention until the new year.

In addition to this, winger Ian Poveda and midfielders Salis Abdul Samed, Ahmed Abdullahi and Jenson Seelt are not expected back until later this month. Defender Niall Huggins is anticipated to be back in January as he recovers from knee surgery. Centre-back Chris Mepham is out through suspension.

Dan Neil, Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham are expected to form the Black Cats' midfield again, which had been the key to much of their success earlier in the season. Striker Wilson Isidor came off against Stoke last time out because of an issue.

Speaking about it in his pre-match press conference, Le Bris said: “It was just a little cramp at the end.” Isidor is expected to be fine to feature against the Robins and will likely keep his place up top.

The Sunderland boss also revealed that defender Luke O'Nien is a doubt to feature after playing through an illness against the Potters at the weekend. Wide man Patrick Roberts is also deemed to be available for this contest having recently been under the weather himself.

Full-back Dennis Cirkin is getting back up to speed following some time out after requiring surgery on his wrist. He made a cameo at the weekend, so he could be given some more minutes here.

For Bristol City, Liam Manning has confirmed that Kal Naismith and Mark Sykes will miss out again due to injury, while Scott Twine's involvement is uncertain as he has been suffering with illness in the last few days.

This could see Max Bird continue to offer support to striker Nahki Wells, while Marcus McGuane is likely to partner Jason Knight in the middle of the park. Ross McCrorie, Joe Williams, George Tanner and Ayman Benarous remain sidelined for the Robins.

Sunderland to win @ 19/20

Saturday will have felt like a huge weight had been lifted off the Sunderland players' shoulders as they ended their winless streak to beat Stoke. Injuries and suspensions had hindered their progress but they will have given themselves some confidence after getting back to winning ways.

They only find themselves three points off the top of the table in fourth, which highlights just how well they started the season before their slight rough patch.

As the festive period looms, the Black Cats know that a healthy points return this month can go a long way come May, and they will need to build some momentum in the next few games.

I think they have an excellent chance of claiming another home victory against Bristol City. The Robins were disappointing in their 3-0 defeat to Portsmouth, who had languished at the bottom of the table for most of the campaign - but they were simply outplayed and outfought.

Now they are about to experience a tougher away fixture in my eyes as Sunderland are yet to lose a match at the Stadium of Light this term. I suspect the Robins will be reeling from the weekend, which could play into the hosts' hands.

Bristol City could still pose a threat because in Mehmeti and Wells, they have two players who have scored 11 Championship goals between them. They could cause some damage against an altered Sunderland back line.

However, if Twine is to miss out, they will miss his creativity and this could open up the door for an easy home victory. Sunderland's exciting midfield will expect to control this match, and I expect this to happen, so I think there will be plenty of goalscoring opportunities on offer for the Black Cats attackers.

Bristol City's defence is going to be vulnerable on Wearside, so I can see Sunderland racking up a couple of goals in this one. I'm not confident in stating a number, so I'll just go with the home side to win.

Tom Watson anytime goalscorer @ 18/5

Sunderland have another exciting young star on their hands in 18-year-old Tom Watson. The youngster has been filling in well in the absence of Mundle and it was his brace against Stoke that got his team back to winning ways.

For someone who is just coming into the senior game, he plays with confidence and doesn't look out of place. From seeing him in action, he reminds me of former Black Cat Jack Clarke in the way he plays, so if he can have the same kind of impact as him then Sunderland have a real gem on their hands.

He will have gained a massive boost from his first league goals at the weekend, and I do believe that they could serve him well against the Robins. I think there is value to be had in backing him to strike for the second successive match.

Offers

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