Phil Parkinson has said he expects an open, entertaining spectacle at the Stadium of Light this weekend when Peterborough United arrive on Wearside.
Both teams head into Saturday’s contest off the back of league victories, with Darren Ferguson’s men securing a late victory over Fleetwood Town as the Lads took an encouraging three points home from Oxford United.
Parkinson is fully expecting the Posh to show plenty of attacking intent and insisted his side must analyse the 90 minutes in order to pick up a positive result.
“Peterborough are an attack-minded team who like to have a go,” the manager stated.
“I expect it to be a more open game than against Bristol Rovers – they came to disrupt the game, whereas I feel Peterborough are more open and will think more towards going forward. We of course endeavour to get that first goal – we know statistically how important that is in games.
“If we don’t score the first goal, we have to make sure we stay calm and understand how we’re going to get back in the game. Sometimes you do get setbacks like we did against Bristol Rovers, and you have to respond in the right way.”
Peterborough were last season’s highest scorers in Sky Bet League One prior to lockdown, scoring 68 goals in 35 games. The gaffer particularly noted how he too surveys his strong attacking options, explaining that the outlook on the opposition must be heavily taken into account.
“We enjoy having these tight calls to make. It’s about getting the balance of the team right, looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition – picking the front players we feel can hurt them the most.
“We went with Danny [Graham] last week because I felt their left-sided centre-back was new to league football, and Danny’s nous would give them a problem.
“We’re looking again at Peterborough, and what combination of our front players would give their backline the most problems.
"This year we have the option to do that, and we’re looking closely every day in training and in every game to try and pick the best team to get the result.”