Welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of this afternoon's Premier League clash between Sunderland and Crystal Palace at the Stadium of Light.
In this game of two halves, Palace pulled away after the break and scored four goals in 17 minutes to blow their opponents away.
Yannick Bolasie was the hero, scoring a hat trick after Glenn Murray had got the first. Connor Wickham added a consolation in the 90th minute.
To read about how the match played out, enjoy our minute by minute coverage below.
Thanks for joining us here today. For reaction to this and all of today's Premier League games stick around with Sports Mole over the next couple of hours.
The first half was a pretty even affair, but once the visitors got one, there was no stopping them. Despite last weekend's win over Newcastle, Dick Advocaat clearly has plenty of work to do.
Well what a second half of football that was. Palace were completely dominant after half-time, and fully deserving of their huge win. The linking up between Glenn Murray and Yannick Bolasie was superb, and Sunderland had no answers for their attacking play.
FULL TIME: SUNDERLAND 1-4 CRYSTAL PALACE
Wickham pulls back a complete consolation for the Black Cats. Van Aanholt fires a cross in from the left after linking well with Defoe. The forward meets it and knocks it past Speroni.
GOAL FOR SUNDERLAND!
On the field, this one is petering out now, with Palace seemingly happy to let Sunderland knock it about amongst themselves.
Numbers in the stands have dwindled drastically now, and there really aren't many left now. It's been a horrible second half for the hosts, so fair play to those who've sat it out.
SHOT! A frustrated Defoe breaks forward and has his first sighter of goal this afternoon - to my memory. He lashes his shot goalwards, it flicks off of Delaney and goes out for a corner.
Sunderland's heads have gone, and possession is being given up extremely cheaply now. With Villa currently winning at Tottenham, this is not turning out to be a good afternoon for Dick Advocaat.
Both players are back on their feet, and Bridcutt makes a superb tackle on Zaha as the winger looked to feed another ball into the box.
Injury stoppage here after an awkward looking collision between Pantilimon and Bridcutt. Zaha crossed the ball in from the right, the keeper claimed well but completely smacked into his own man. Both men are on the deck being treated.
Poor touch from O'Shea, tripping up Sanogo. Palace take the free kick quickly but Zaha can't get a clean shot off and fires into Van Aanholt's midriff.
SUBSTITUTION FOR CRYSTAL PALACE: Pardew takes pity on Sunderland by allowing Bolasie a rest for the last 20 minutes! The smile can't be wiped off his face though, as he trots off to be replaced by on-loan forward Yaya Sanogo.
SAVE! Excellent save from Pantilimon to prevent a fifth goal! Bolasie clips it into McArthur's path, and the midfielder gets a strong contact on it before it is pushed out by the keeper.
SUBSTITUTION FOR SUNDERLAND: As even more supporters walk out, Bridcutt is brought on in place of Cattermole. It barely matters, and it looks like damage limitation now for Sunderland.
Hat trick for Bolasie! Guess what? Yep, it came from another long ball! Sunderland had a corner but when Palace got the ball out, again Murray was the target. The striker brings the ball down, waits for Bolasie's arrival and then stabs the ball central. Pantilimon comes out to meet him, but he stutters past him. Two defenders attempt to close, but the Palace man seals his hat-trick with an albeit scrappy finish! He won't mind though, and the Palace fans are buzzing.
GOAL FOR CRYSTAL PALACE!
Palace are really enjoying this now, with Zaha and Bolasie taking it turns to skip past Sunderland players at will and draw the fouls. This is going to be a frustrating last 30 minutes for the hosts.
CHANCE! Zaha dances his way into the box before trying to set up Murray for his second. The cutback almost makes it to the striker, but Vergini steps in and clears.
I'm as shellshocked as the few fans left in the stadium to be honest. I thought there would be goals, and I thought Palace were good value to open the scoring, but nobody was expecting three goals in seven second half minutes. The visitors have just completely bossed proceedings since the half-time break. Whatever Pardew said in the dressing room, it's had the desired effect!
The home fans are leaving after another goal for Bolasie following another failed attempt by Sunderland to clear a long ball. The Palace man meets the long punt upfield, beats two men, before excellently lifting the ball over Pantilimon and into the net. All of a sudden, it's game over.
GOAL FOR CRYSTAL PALACE!
Oh dear, Sunderland are really in trouble now. Palace make it two, with the Murray and Bolasie combination reversing their roles this time. Murray wins yet another flick on into the path of Bolasie. The winger runs onto the ball and beats Pantilimon to it, knocking the ball into the corner. A huge uphill task for the home side now.
GOAL FOR CRYSTAL PALACE!
Well I said I thought that there'd be a goal sooner or later, despite the opener not quite being what the home fans would have hoped for. But it was excellent movement from Murray, whose finish left the Sunderland keeper with no chance at all.
And it's that man Glenn Murray again - what a run of form he's in right now, and that's his sixth goal in as many games. Delaney played it long towards Murray's head, and the striker flicked it on to Bolasie. The winger jinked inside and fired a left footed effort goalwards after he'd cut inside. The ball spins off towards the back post, where Murray has continued his run to, and he heads past Pantilimon from close range.
GOAL FOR CRYSTAL PALACE!
RESTART! Back underway here, with the hosts kicking off and kicking towards the main end for this second half.
A quick look at the stats shows me that there have been 11 attempts on goal this afternoon, but just of those has been on target. I think that there will be a goal at some stage though, with both teams showing enough ambition to suggest that eventually, a bit of magic - or a mistake - might happen which will open the scoring.
Jack Rodwell was certainly lucky to avoid being sent off for a very poor tackle on McArthur, while Souare was forced off after being injured by Billy Jones, who wasn't booked.
Well, I wouldn't say it's been a quality game so far, but it's certainly been entertaining. It's been end to end stuff, without actual chances following positive play. Both sides have had spells of being on top, with Sunderland starting well before Palace grew into the affair.
HALF TIME: SUNDERLAND 0-0 CRYSTAL PALACE
Four minutes of added time are signalled, due to the Souare injury and the time McArthur spent on the floor following Rodwell's tackle.
SAVE! Van Aanholt - ever happy to maraud forward - delivers a chipped cross to Fletcher. The Scot adjusts his body and swivels enough to get a shot off, but it's tame as it bounces into Speroni's hands. Unlucky, because it was a nice move.
This is such a strange game. It's being played at 100mph but neither side is finding the quality to get into attacking areas and really threaten. It's good fun though, even if there aren't too many clear cut chances.
Van Aanholt leads the Sunderland charge after a dangerous Palace corner is cleared. The left back steams forward, opting to shoot with his weaker foot. Speroni is untroubled as the ball flies wide.
CLOSE! Jones gets played in down the right and delivers what looks like a lovely cross towards the back post where Wickham is waiting for a tap-in. With his heart in his mouth, Dann manages to intercept the ball and divert it into Speroni's safe hands. Excellent defending from the Palace centre back.
SUBSTITUTION FOR CRYSTAL PALACE: Kelly comes on for Souare, who is really struggling with a leg injury here and is helped off the field. Jones pats him on the back while a replay of the tackle that injured him is shown. It's not malicious, and I think Souare has just suffered from a really painful dead leg. It was quite a bang.
Souare makes a clearance but is visibly in pain. This time he can't hobble off to the physio so he's treated on the pitch and Martin Kelly is told to warm up.
Souare is clattered into by Jones, with Taylor not even giving a foul, let alone the yellow card Palace want to see issued. The defender is treated quickly and resumes.
Despite the good pressing, when the hosts do win possession, they're just so wasteful. Van Aanholt is the latest in a long line of Sunderland players to win the ball and then just fire it upfield to nobody and allow Palace to come away with it.
Advocaat has really got Sunderland pressing Palace high. Every time Pardew's side have the ball, Black Cats players are right on top of them, giving them no time at all to find each other with their passes. Unlike the end of Gus Poyet's time in charge, they look as if they're playing for their manager.
The home fans want Taylor to issue another yellow card. This time, Delaney goes in quite high on Fletcher, who had knocked the ball past him. I'm not convinced the defender actually touched him though, and the ref decides that it doesn't warrant a caution.
YELLOW CARD: Customary yellow card for Cattermole, who loses possession in midfield to Bolasie and then tugs him back in a poor attempt to get the ball back.
Vergini whips a ball towards the back post, where Ward is waiting. The defender nonchalantly heads it back towards Speroni, who claims despite the touch looking high to begin with.
YELLOW CARD: I actually think that's harsh on Dann, who have every right to try and win the ball after the Romanian keeper fumbled. The goalie is up and ok after treatment and we'll resume.
INJURY: Mannone is warming up on the sideline after Pantilimon gets injured trying to claim the corner kick. The keeper drops the ball, allowing Dann to go for it, but he treads on the keeper's hand.
CLOSE! Puncheon swings in the free-kick and Lee Cattermole pokes it towards his own goal and just wide for a corner.
YELLOW CARD: Rodwell is lucky to only receive a booking after a dangerous looking tackle on McArthur. Alan Pardew is furious on the sideline, and the midfielder couldn't have had many complaints if he'd have been dismissed.
CHANCE! Murray flicks the ball onto Bolasie, who attempts to twist and turn the defenders. He manages to shift the ball onto his left foot and he drills it across back towards Murray, who has continued his run. Vergini makes a very good clearance from almost under his own crossbar. Puncheon gathers the ball but fires straight at Pantilimon.
Puncheon scored an excellent set-piece against City on Monday, but this time his captain Jedinak takes charge. However, his shot is low and lacks any power. Poor effort.
Rodwell attempts to release Van Aanholt but his touch lets him down. Palace break through Bolasie, who feeds Zaha inside. Jordi Gomez fouls him, and Palace have a free-kick in a good area.
Distinct lack of creativity during these early stages, with neither side being able to string together many passes once they reach the final third.
Defoe drives forward and tries to link with Fletcher. Palace force them wide and the danger is averted. Positive start by the home side though.
Sunderland attack again and Fletcher plays the ball square into the area. With seemingly no danger, Souare panics and puts the ball behind for another corner. Someone should have shouted to him that he had time to play the ball there.
Fletcher meets the outswinging corner. The striker jumps alongside Dann, and can't direct his header on target.
A series of niggly fouls have littered the start of this game, but Sunderland have forced a corner. The first real foray into attacking territory by either team.
Nice trickery from Zaha. He lays the ball off to Ward, who is subsequently tripped by Van Aanholt and Palace might be able to launch a ball into the box.
KICK OFF! The away side get us underway, kicking from right to left as we look. The referee this afternoon is Anthony Taylor.
The teams are in the tunnel and look ready for action. Sunderland of course are in their traditional home strip of red and white stripes, while the visitors are wearing their change strip of yellow shirts and light blue shorts and socks.
The crowd is building with just five minutes to kick-off here on Wearside, and it's a perfect afternoon for football with the sun soaking Sunderland's ground.
Defensively, Palace haven't been perhaps quite as sound as they were last season under Tony Pulis. That's certainly something that Defoe, Fletcher and Connor Wickham might look to expose today, with Advocaat clearly showing his intent by naming all three in his team.
Sunderland actually won the reverse of this fixture earlier this year though, which was a Monday Night Football clash at Selhurst Park. Palace skipper Jedinak was red carded during the 3-1 loss, while Mackems forward Stephen Fletcher claimed a brace.
PREDICTION: Sunderland are fighting for their lives, and they'll definitely be boosted by their beating of Newcastle last weekend. I don't think they'll have enough to win this game, but Palace can't keep on winning every week, can they?! I'm going to go for a score draw this afternoon; a 1-1 stalemate seeing the points shared. The teams drew 0-0 here last season.
But going back to this game, and almost 60 per cent of votes on our preview of this game agree with the lads that Palace will come out on top in the North East. But I'm not so sure...
UPDATE: The first Premier League match of the weekend is over, and Swansea City and Everton have had a share of the spoils in Wales. Aaron Lennon had given the away side a half-time lead, but Jonjo Shelvey levelled from the penalty spot after a Seamus Coleman handball. Of course there is reaction to this, and all of today's games, elsewhere on Sports Mole.
Half hour an hour until kick off then, so let's have a look at what the Sports Mole team had to say on this clash earlier in the week. Watch as both Matt and Pascal agreed that this could be another win for Pardew's men:
Defoe is of course in the Sunderland lineup today then, and he'll be hoping to add to his brilliant winner over The Magpies. He has a decent record against this afternoon's opposition:
#SUNCRY: Striker @IAmJermainDefoe has scored three career goals v @CPFC pic.twitter.com/q7t3S8EF8x
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) April 11, 2015
Ledley injured his hip during the victory over City last week, with his fitness get result today only satisfactory enough for a place on the bench. Jedinak's return is one of two Palace changes, with left back Papa Souare being preferred to Martin Kelly today. Marouane Chamakh, Frazier Campbell and Jordan Mutch all remain sidelined.
For the visitors, the big news is the return from suspension of captain Mile Jedinak. The Australian promptly earned himself a four game ban on his return to action from the Asian Nations Cup, and he comes into the team in place of Joe Ledley this afternoon.
Advocaat is forced to make a change today, with Seb Larsson's tenth booking of the season last Sunday against Newcastle resulting a suspension. Jack Rodwell comes into the starting XI in the Swede's place, which is the only change to the lineup. Adam Johnson and Will Buckley both settle for places amongst the substitutes. Wes Brown is a long-term absentee.
Crystal Palace: Speroni; Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare; Bolasie, McArthur, Jedinak, Zaha; Puncheon; Murray.
Subs: Hennessey, Hangeland, Sanogo, Ledley, Gayle, Kelly, Ameobi.
Sunderland: Pantilimon, O'Shea, Vergini, Jones, van Aanholt, Cattermole, Gomez, Rodwell, Fletcher, Wickham, Defoe.
Subs: Bridcutt, Johnson, Reveillere, Graham, Coates, Mannone, Buckley.
The teams have been announced, so let's take a look:
After winning three in a row, finishing in the top 10 is now a realistic ambition for The Eagles, with a win today, coupled by a draw between West Ham and Stoke City leaving them just a point behind.
Palace however have their eyes looking up not down, with their progress since Pardew's arrival well documented. In fact, you may have seen a league table floating around this week which included "Team Pardew" - a mixture of his pre-Palace and post-Newcastle points totals. His record this season would see him sitting in eighth place, just five points behind Southampton.
Sunderland are probably the side more in need of another victory this afternoon, with relegation still a distinct possibility for Dick Advocaat's team. Hovering three points above the drop zone, a win would push them onto 32 points today, which would look much healthier for them. Aston Villa and QPR drawing 3-3 in midweek is helpful for the Black Cats, as those two sides are both still beneath them in the table having played a game more.
Both sides come into this one in high spirits after big wins last weekend. Hosts Sunderland won their local derby against Newcastle United on Sunday, with Jermaine Defoe's Goal of the Season contender to thank for handing them three points. Meanwhile, ex-Toon boss Alan Pardew watched his side put another dent into Manchester City's season 24 hours later, with goals from Glenn Murray and Jason Puncheon proving enough in a 2-1 win.
Good afternoon and welcome to live coverage of the Premier League clash between Sunderland and Crystal Palace here on Sports Mole.
Written by
Joe McPhee
Joe McPhee
