Sunderland vs Brighton Prediction: Little to separate sides at the Stadium of Light

Sunderland missed the chance to progress in the FA Cup last weekend, suffering a shock defeat to League 1 side Port Vale. Despite that result, the Black Cats remain in with a chance of securing European football next season if they finish the current Premier League campaign strongly.

Meanwhile, Brighton have won two of their previous three Premier League matches after a run of just one win in seven games. The Seagulls sit 14th, just nine points clear of the drop zone. Read on for my Sunderland vs Brighton predictions, ahead of Saturday's 15:00 kick-off at the Stadium of Light.

Team News

Sunderland will be without the services of Robin Roefs, Nordi Mukiele, Romaine Mundle, Bertrand Traore, Reinildo Mandava and Jocelin Ta Bi for this match due to injury.

Furthermore, both Denis Cirkin and Brian Brobbey will undergo late fitness tests to see whether either are fit to feature this weekend.

Seagulls head coach Fabian Hurzeler will not be able to call upon Adam Webster and Stefanos Tzimas due to knee injuries.

Solly March, Lewis Dunk and Kaoru Mitoma remain doubtful and it remains to be seen if they are fit enough to make the Brighton squad.

Sunderland vs Brighton Odds

Sunderland are 9/4 to win the match and bounce back from their shock FA Cup defeat last weekend, while Brighton are 5/4 to snatch an away win and the draw is priced at 12/5.

No goals were scored in the previous meeting and under 2.5 goals is priced at 8/11.

Both teams to score @ 5/6

Although the previous meeting between these two teams this term finished 0-0, this game could be a different story.

The Black Cats will be keen to put cup disappointment behind them and continue on the chase for a coveted European spot.

Brighton lost to Arsenal last time out, but they did score four times in wins over Nottingham Forest and Brentford recently.

Two of Sunderland's last four games has featured both teams scoring, while this bet would have landed in five of Brighton's last 11 games.

With both teams desperate for three points, expect both to score.

Habib Diarra to score anytime @ 7/2

Habib Diarra has missed a large chunk of the season due to a groin problem, but the midfielder has came back strongly in recent weeks.

Across 10 appearances since he recovered, the Senegalese starlet has scored three goals.

All of those three efforts have came during his last eight matches for the Black Cats and he averages 1.3 shots per match in the Premier League and could add to his goal tally against the Seagulls.

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