Sunderland vs Hull Prediction: Can the Tigers get back to winning ways?

| January 18 |

4 mins read

Sunderland host Hull City at the Stadium of Light in the Championship on Friday night (20:00), with both these sides looking to get themselves in the frame for a place in the play-offs.

The Black Cats are currently seventh in the table on 40 points, level with Coventry City in sixth, while Hull have been dropping down in recent weeks and they are down to ninth but just a point behind on 39.

Sunderland vs Hull Betting Tips

Draw and both teams to score - 10/3
Over 3.5 goals - 2/1

Sunderland were 1-0 winners in the reverse fixture which was played on Boxing Day, with star man Jack Clarke scoring late on at the MKM Stadium. That was Michael Beale's first win since succeeding Tony Mowbray last month. His appointment divided the fanbase and they have won just twice in the six games he has overseen in all competitions so far.

He is already receiving some pressure from the Mackems, which increased after his side were comfortably beaten 3-0 by rivals Newcastle United in the FA Cup. So he could personally benefit from getting his team back to winning ways on home soil on Friday night.

Hull head into this one off the back of losing their FA Cup third-round replay at Birmingham City in midweek. The Tigers were a goal up at half-time and went on to lose 2-1 in injury time, continuing their bad run of form. They have now won just three of their last 11 in all competitions and it appears as though Liam Rosenior's men are going through a rough patch, which they will need to get out of swiftly.

The fact that they are still just a point outside the play-offs shows just how well they have been doing this term, but things can change quickly in the second tier and a decrease in victories can see you slide down the table.

Match Odds

Sunderland are 10/11 to complete the double over the Tigers on Friday. A draw can be backed at 13/5, while Hull are 11/4 to pick up the three points.

Both teams to score is on offer at 4/6, while over 2.5 goals is 8/11.

Team News

The hosts are still without duo Patrick Roberts and Bradley Dack, who are both believed to back in the next few weeks.

Rosenior made several changes at Birmingham in midweek in what was likely a strategy to rest his key stars in a bid to get back on track in the league. The Hull boss is going to be without forwards Aaron Connolly and Liam Delap, with the latter ruled out until spring, while Scott Twine has made a switch to Bristol City after Burnley recalled him in midweek.

Draw and both teams to score @ 10/3

It isn't the result that both these sides are after but we fancy this one to end in a draw on Friday night. Beale is still having some teething issues on Wearside and he has not brought with him the new manager bounce that the club would've hoped for when he was appointed.

There is no doubting the quality that he has at his disposal. His side have been able to create a host of chances in the games he has taken charge but they need to be more clinical in the final third.

Questions still remain about their defence, which could play into Hull's hands as they are desperate to get back to winning games regularly. With key stars rested in the week, Rosenior will be hoping that his players can regroup and harmonise to cause more problems for Beale at Sunderland.

They are not as confident as they were earlier in the season, but they are still being competitive in their matches. And just like Sunderland, they are being punished for not being clinical.

With both defences being frail of late, we expect both sets of attackers to increase their confidence on Friday night in front of goal, but we do believe that they will cancel each other out.

Over 3.5 goals @ 2/1

Following on from that last point, we do fancy this fixture to deliver several goals on Friday night. Both teams are not in the best of rhythms, but coming up against each other's out-of-form defences could really benefit one another.

Four of Hull's last six away clashes in the Championship have seen at least four goals scored, which really made this market stand out to us. Hull may have lost their two leading goalscorers in Connolly and Delap, but they still have Ozan Tufan, who has chipped in with seven goals himself this term.

As for Sunderland, Clarke has scored a whopping 13 goals already this year, while Jobe Bellingham and Dan Neil have been on the scoresheet on a couple of occasions themselves.