Wigan manager Roberto Martinez admits tomorrow's game at the DW Stadium is vital for both teams.
Sunderland head south looking for their first away win of the season while Martinez's Wigan are hoping to follow up their excellent 1-0 victory at Tottenham.
And, previewing the game, Martinez also touched on the returns of former Wigan players Lee Cattermole and Titus Bramble, both of whom should start for the visitors tomorrow.
"It is such an important game for both teams, but the most important thing is the performance and the three points," Martinez told wiganlatics.co.uk.
"There are obviously strong links between the two clubs because of certain players and the manager, but I think that that comes second to a very important 90 minutes for both teams.
"Titus and Lee both had a very good period with us, and I know that the fans will have their own memories and experiences of their time here, but I feel that the fans are very excited about the new players that we've got.
"Tom [Cleverley] and Franco [Di Santo] are going to come into our DW Stadium for the first time and I can feel that excitement from the fans. We've put a very exciting squad together, they're very young and they have huge potential.
"We are now desperate to be competitive in a home fixture after the two disappointments that we had early in the season, and it is important to back up the performance that we had at Spurs with a similar one in front of our own fans."
