Alex Neil believes the position Sunderland find themselves in makes them a ‘dangerous’ side to face at this stage of the season.
The Black Cats sit at the foot of the Sky Bet Championship table, looking to close the gap on 21st place Barnsley who hold a five-point lead over them at the moment.
And while the Tykes will have the chance to extend the gap before Sunderland even kick a ball tomorrow, as they face Millwall at 1pm, that doesn’t make Preston’s challenge any easier according to Neil.
“We’ve got to look at and understand our opponent's motivation coming into a game,” the Scotsman told Preston’s official website.
“If they’re desperate for the points, for whatever reason, we’ve got to understand that this isn’t a game where they’ve got nothing to play for.”
“I think these type of teams are really dangerous to play against, they need the points, we also need the points, so you’re just hoping in terms of playing under pressure that we can handle that and hopefully go out and perform.
“It was tough against Sunderland earlier on in the season. I think that there was a lot of emotion that day - obviously Simon (Grayson) and Aiden (McGeady) were coming back for the first time since they left, and I think Sunderland were naturally always going to raise their game.”
He continued: “We went ahead in the game back in September and probably should have kept the lead. We didn’t and then the game ended in a draw. Despite their position in the league at the moment, I am expecting an equally tough game on Saturday.
“I think there’s a lot pressure coming into Saturday’s game at Sunderland. The fans will be nervous and agitated because they think their team should be doing better and we’ve got to take advantage of that.
“It’s a difficult one for Sunderland at the moment. However, if you look at recent results from sides who are near the bottom of the table, they’re picking up results now. I think it can be really dangerous playing sides near the bottom at this stage of this season because they’re fighting for their lives, they know what’s at stake and they’re running out of time.”