?Regardless of whether Chelsea secure the 2016/17 Premier League title on Friday evening, all eyes must surely be fixed on an absolute monster of a basement clash between Sunderland and Swansea City on Saturday afternoon.
The already-relegated Black Cats threw a huge spanner in the works last Saturday after they pulled off a shock 2-0 victory away over fellow strugglers Hull City and, after Swansea’s crucial 1-0 win over Everton, put the Swans in the driving seat for Premier League survival.
Swansea know that anything but three points at the Stadium of Light could swing the pendulum back in the Tigers’ favour, and they will be desperate to prevent David Moyes’ men from potentially setting another cat among the pigeons.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of a humungous clash in the North East:
Classic Encounter
Sunderland are, quite surprisingly, winless in their last three home meeting with Saturday’s visitors, and that sorry record had its seeds sown in a May 2014 defeat that saw Swansea triumph 3-1.
Nathan Dyer’s seventh-minute opener set the tone for the match and, just seven minutes later, Marvin Emnes also struck – after turning John O’Shea with ease – to put the Welsh club 2-0 up inside the first quarter of an hour.
Fabio Borini’s 50th-minute header halved the deficit to give the Black Cats fresh hope, but former striker Wilfried Bony netted just four minutes after that to deal the decisive blow and send the Swans above Sunderland in the final 2014/15 standings.
Key Battle
Jermain Defoe vs Gylfi Sigurdsson
The battle of the talismanic figures – and former Tottenham team-mates, funnily enough – will be the most anticipated duel this weekend as Defoe and Sigurdsson lock horns with the aim of firing their respective teams to victory.
Defoe ended a 10-game goal drought with his 15th strike of the campaign against Hull last time out and, but for the England international’s haul, Sunderland would have been relegated much sooner than anticipated.
Sigurdsson, meanwhile, has also weighed in with a multitude of goals and assists for the ailing Swans this term. The Icelandic playmaker’s league haul of nine goals and 12 assists have certainly aided his side’s cause, while vital performances against the likes of Crystal Palace and Southampton have earned the Swans six extra points this term.
Both players are extremely likely to leave in the close season – Sigurdsson interesting Everton, and Defoe unlikely to want to ply his trade in the Championship – but, for now, the pair will attempt to land the the killer blow on their opponents in the most tantalising of contests.
Team News
Sunderland boss David Moyes will be without up to six first-team players for the visit of Swansea, but should have enough squad depth to cope with their absence.
Lee Cattermole (achilles), Duncan Watmore (cruciate ligament), Jan Kirchhoff (cartilage), Darron Gibson (groin), Paddy McNair (knee) and Bryan Oviedo (hamstring) are all unable to feature in the Black Cats’ final home Premier League fixture, and last top flight match on home turf for some time.
Swansea gaffer Paul Clement, on the other hand, has no such worries as he plots a way to mastermind a rare away victory to keep the club in the Premier League.
Only Angel Rangel (metatarsal) and wing trio Nathan Dyer (achilles), Jefferson Montero (hamstring) and Wayne Routledge (hernia) are unavailable for selection for the South Wales side.
Predicted Sunderland Starting Lineup: Pickford; Jones, O’Shea, Kone, Manquillo; Denayer, Ndong; Borini, Anichebe, Khazri; Defoe.
Predicted Swansea Starting Lineup: Fabianski; Naughton, Fernandez, Mawson, Olsson; Britton, Fer; Ayew, Carroll, Sigurdsson; Llorente.
Prediction
Saturday’s encounter pits the Premier League club with the lowest haul of home points – Sunderland with 14 – against a Swansea side looking to end an away record of 17 matches without a clean sheet.
The latter will be going all out to extend their unbeaten run at the Stadium of Light to four games and, in the process, be on the cusp of retaining their top flight status for the 2017/18 season.
The Black Cats, however, have already plunged a dagger into Hull fans’ hearts and will look to do likewise against the Swans in a bid to set up a nail-biting last day of the campaign relegation tussle.
It promises to be a thunderous affair, but we can’t see either side managing to pick up all three points regardless of their perilous positions.
Prediction: Sunderland 2-2 Swansea City
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