Sunderland return to the Stadium of Light on Saturday to host Crystal Palace in the Premier League (KO 3pm).
The Black Cats secured safe passage in the EFL Cup on Wednesday evening, with Paddy McNair scoring a late double to defeat Queens Park Rangers and set up a trip to Southampton in the fifth round.
And they will be hoping to build on their capital exploits when Alan Pardew’s Eagles come to town.
Also in action on Wednesday night, Palace tasted defeat at St Mary’s as Charlie Austin’s penalty and Jake Hesketh’s first goal for Saints decided the tie.
Pardew’s side do however boast an impressive start to the Premier League season picking up seven points from their opening five games, and they were rampant last weekend beating Stoke City 4-1 to ensure Mark Hughes’ side remain rooted to the bottom of the table.
Victory at the SoL would give the Eagles a third consecutive top-flight win.
Christian Benteke, who opened his account in the north east against Middlesbrough, is expected to lead the line but top scorer Scott Dann could miss out.
The defender, who has already scored three goals during the current campaign, underwent a scan on Thursday after limping out of the defeat against Saints with a hamstring injury.
James Tomkins is also a doubt, and should the former West Ham United man miss out then Damian Delaney would be Palace’s only recognised centre back.
Pape Souare and Loic Remy are also unavailable.
Sunderland will also be without key players as Vito Mannone, Seb Larsson and Fabio Borini continue to recover from long-term injuries, but Jack Rodwell, Wahbi Khazri and Jermain Defoe could face the Eagles after returning to training.
The last meeting between the two sides saw fireworks as an end-to-end encounter resulted in a 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light.
Dame N’Doye’s opener put Sunderland in control before a quickfire double from former Black Cat Connor Wickham flipped the game on its head, but the drama was far from over and in added time Borini’s blistering volley rescued a point for the Lads.
Make sure you don’t miss any of the drama this Saturday buy securing your seat for the first of two consecutive games at the Stadium of Light – click here to purchase or for more information.
If you can’t make the game, then don’t fear because we have every base covered with extensive coverage on safc.com and on Twitter by following @SunderlandAFC.
Nick Barnes and Gary Bennett are this weekend’s commentary team.
Match betting odds with Dafabet
Jermain Defoe to score two or more NOW 12/1 (was 10/1)
Duncan Watmore to score anytime NOW 11/1 (was 17/2)
Sunderland to win and over 2.5 goals NOW 13/2 (was 5/1)
Sunderland to win 1-0 NOW 9/1 (was 7/1)
Visit Dafabet’s official website for more odds
Odds are correct at time of publishing and are subject to change. T&C’s apply. Please gamble responsibly. 18+