Just two home games remain in Sunderland’s quest to secure an immediate return to the Championship, with Doncaster Rovers up next.
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Grant McCann will bring his Rovers side to the Stadium of Light on Good Friday, kick-off 5:15pm, looking to secure their fifth straight win and heap more pressure on the Black Cats.
Sunderland have endured a challenging couple of home matches, collecting just one point from six after recording back-to-back wins on the road against Accrington Stanley and Rochdale.
A 1-1 draw against Burton Albion was then followed by a bizarre, yet disappointing, 5-4 defeat against Coventry City last Saturday, leaving the Lads third with five matches to go.
While second place – which Barnsley currently occupy – remains in Sunderland’s hands due to their game in hand. The Black Cats have it all to do in their next three games, with Peterborough United away and then Portsmouth on Wearside to come.
As mentioned above, Doncaster head to the north east enjoying a rich run of form which has seen them build up a five-point gap on seventh-place Peterborough United.
While the Posh do have a game in hand over Donny, McCann’s side do have the points on the board already after wins over Bradford City, Plymouth Argyle, Walsall and Bristol Rovers.
Jack Ross has been handed a boost ahead of this weekend’s match, with the return fo Chris Maguire to the fold.
The 30-year-old has been sidelined since February with a fractured fibula but is now fit and ready to return for the final five games.
Maguire played a key role in the game when the two sides met earlier in the season as he scored the game’s only goal at the Keepmoat Stadium.
However, Sunderland will be without Aiden McGeady and Dylan McGeouch while Lynden Gooch remains 50/50.
Doncaster are boosted by the return of leading goalscorer John Marquis. With 23 goals under his belt already this term, the 26-year-old missed Saturday’s win over Plymouth Argyle with concussion.
Having overcome that, Marquis is now once again in contention along with Ben Whiteman and Tom Anderson.
DON’T MISS THE ACTION
Cash turnstiles will be in operation for this evening’s home match – full details available here.
BBC Radio Newcastle’s Nick Barnes will be broadcasting live right here on safc.com from 4:15pm.
As ever, there will be comprehensive coverage across our digital channels including safc.com’s matchday blog and live updates on Twitter via @SunderlandAFC.
