PREVIEW: Sunderland vs Derby County - Can The Black Cats regain the top spot?

All you need to know ahead of Sunderland's midweek clash against the Rams

Sunderland will be hoping to get back to winning ways tonight after falling to defeat to Watford on the weekend.

The last time Sunderland faced tonight's opponents Derby County, was back in March 2018. Despite being at the foot of the table, The Black Cats beat the play-off challenging Derby 4-1. A positive point, in what had been a retched vein of form.

This next stat will either fill you with hope, or with dread. Sunderland haven't lost to Derby in 23 years, a 1-0 defeat coming at Pride Park, back when both sides were in the Premier League. But you have to go back all the way to 1990, for Sunderland's last defeat at home to Derby County, a narrow 2-1 defeat on that occasion.

Team News

Sunderland will once again be without the services of Niall Huggins, Aji Alese and Jenson Seelt as they continue their recoveries.

Elizer Mayenda, Ahmed Abdullahi, Salis Abdul Samed and Alan Browne remain doubtful.

There have been many calls for Dan Neil to be dropped after conceding the penalty which won Watford the game on Saturday, but Le Bris has defended the 22-year-old.

The Opposition

Derby County will be feeling very aggrieved after Saturday's 3-2 home defeat to Norwich. Norwich opened the scoring but the ball had crossed the by-line in the build up to the goal which wasn't spotted by the linesman.

The same thing happened again for Norwich's third. After a Derby set-piece the ball again looked to have gone out of play off a Norwich man, but play was allowed to go on. A pass forward from Jack Stacey allowed Norwich to go on the counter attack, from which Borja Sainz grabbed his hattrick.

After an opening day defeat, Derby have put in some good performances including their 1-0 over Boro and 3-0 win over Bristol City

The Gaffer

Paul Warne was appointed as the head coach of Derby County in September 2022 after nearly six years at Rotherham United.

In his first season at Pride Park, Warne narrowly missed out on the League One play-offs as his Derby County side finished seventh, just one point behind Peterborough United in sixth.

The following season, he helped guide Derby County back to the Championship, after two seasons away, although not all Derby supporters were happy with his style of play

Poor results in pre-season lead to fans wanting him sacked, but after a promising start, it may seem like he has won back the supporters.

The Squad

Derby currently have four players unavailable, with Tom Barkhuzien, Liam Thompson, Jake Rooney and David Ozoh who are set to miss the trip to Sunderland.

After more impressive performances, Kayden Jackson looks like he will be set to start once again. As well as captain Nathaniel Mendez-Laing who is more than likely to be in the starting line up to face Sunderland.

Corey Blackett-Taylor scored after coming on as a late substitute and looks to have made himself a contender to start.

Previous Meeting

On a day where both sides were fighting their own individual battles at opposite ends of the table, Sunderland came out victorious.

George Honeyman opened the scoring on the 10 minute mark after his effort deflected in off Craig Forsyth, before Ashley Fletcher made the most of a loose pass from Richard Keogh to make 2-0 to Sunderland.

Just before the break, Matej Vydra brought the score back to 2-1 with a fine half-volley.

After the break, Forsyth fouled Lyndon Gooch in the penalty area and Aiden McGeady put away the subsequent penalty, restoring their two-goal lead. John O'Shea then made it four after he poked the ball into the back of the net.

The Referee

Dean Whitestone will be tonight's referee.

Whitestone has refereed Sunderland on seven previous occasions, with The Black Cats winning four and losing three. He also officiated the 2019 EFL Trophy final where they lost 7-6 on penalties to Portsmouth.

Predicted Line-up

4-3-3: Patterson, Hume, O'Nien, Mepham, Cirkin, Rigg, Neil, Jobe, Roberts, Isidor, Mundle