Needing a point to guarantee their Championship survival, Sheffield Wednesday will head to the Stadium of Light to meet Sunderland on the final day of the season on Saturday.
The visitors have jumped out of the drop zone with a crucial upturn in form in recent weeks, while their hosts can climb up to 13th spot with a return to winning ways in their last outing of the campaign.
Match preview
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Sunderland head into the final day of the Championship season aiming to bounce back to winning ways at the Stadium of Light, having dropped to 15th spot in England's second tier following a tough run of form.
After reaching the playoffs last time around, the Black Cats have endured a much tougher campaign this time around, with Mike Dodds having taken charge in mid-February following Mick Beale's departure.
At that stage, the Wearside outfit sat on 47 points from 33 matches, having lost crucial ground in the playoff race, and the interim boss has been unable to inspire a reversal in fortunes, as they have instead slipped further into the bottom half with the 12 attempts since producing just nine more points.
Of their two victories in those 12 games, the most recent was an impressive one away at sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion in mid-April, with Pierre Ekwah netting the only goal of the game late in the first half, but they have since suffered another pair of consecutive defeats heading into the weekend, losing 1-0 at the hands of Millwall and Watford, with Ryan Andrews netting the only goal in the latter on Saturday.
Having now dropped to 15th spot as a result of their struggles since the turn of the year, Sunderland will bid to end their season on a high with a return to winning ways at the Stadium of Light on Saturday that could see them climb as high as 13th place depending on other results.
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They meet a visiting Sheffield Wednesday side who arrive in a contrasting run of form, having moved into pole position in the fight to avoid relegation in recent weeks.
Following their promotion from League One last term, the South Yorkshire outfit have spent almost the entirety of the season in the bottom three in England's second tier, but an improvement since Danny Rohl's December appointment saw them remain competitive, having earned 47 of this year's 50 points in his 34 league games at the helm.
Nonetheless, the Owls did remain stuck in the bottom three with time running out on 39 points from 40 matches, but they have since produced a crucial upturn in form to strengthen their hopes of maintaining second-tier status, firstly triumphing away at Queens Park Rangers and sharing points with Norwich City and Stoke City before leaping out of the bottom three with back-to-back victories most recently.
Rohl's men would visit fellow relegation-fighters Blackburn Rovers and take all three points from a 3-1 win, thanks to goals from Josh Windass and Marvin Johnson and an Aynsley Pears own goal, before most recently hosting sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion on Saturday and dishing out a 3-0 beating at Hillsborough with Anthony Musaba, Ike Ugbo and Windass on the scoresheet.
Thanks to their dramatic recent improvement, Sheffield Wednesday finally find themselves outside of the drop zone heading into the final day, and with a two-point lead over 21st-placed Plymouth Argyle and a three-point lead over 22nd-placed Birmingham City, they travel north knowing that a point or a slip from the sides below them would see them confirm their safety this season.
Team News
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Sunderland remain without several players due to injuries heading into the final game of the Championship season, with defenders Niall Huggins, Jenson Seelt and Dennis Cirkin continuing spells in the treatment room alongside midfielders Bradley Dack and Dan Neil and forward Nazariy Rusyn.
In the absence of Rusyn, winger Adil Aouchiche led the Black Cats' line in a 3-4-3 shape against Watford last time out, although Luis Semedo will hope to come in from the start and net his first Championship goal for the club.
Top scorer Jack Clarke is bound to keep his place in a front three, although Patrick Roberts will fight to displace 16-year-old Chris Rigg in the starting XI, while Jobe Bellingham and Pierre Ekwah are bound to continue their partnership in the engine room.
Danny Rohl should field an unchanged Sheffield Wednesday starting XI on Saturday following their crucial 3-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion last time out, with Juan Delgado and Ian Poveda remaining sidelined by injuries.
Anthony Musaba, Ike Ubo and Josh Windass are bound to line up in a front three once again, having all got on the scoresheet in that game with Musaba and Ugbo each moving on to seven for the season in the Championship, while Windass has found the net in their last two consecutive victories after returning from an injury layoff last month.
Key defender Di'Shon Bernard returned after a layoff of his own last time out and should again join Dominic Iorfa and Liam Palmer in a back three, after Michael Ihiekwe limped off early in their meeting with Blackburn Rovers and missed the West Brom fixture, while Will Vaulks and Barry Bannan will continue to partner up in the engine room.
Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Patterson; O'Nien, Ballard, Alese; Hume, Bellingham, Ekwah, Styles; Roberts, Aouchiche, Clarke
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Beadle; Palmer, Iorfa, Bernard; Valentin, Vaulks, Bannan, Johnson; Musaba, Ugbo, Windass
We say: Sunderland 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday head up to the Stadium of Light with plenty of momentum and the desire to guarantee their safety with another statement result, and against a Sunderland team limping to the end of the season, we back Rohl's side to make it three wins on the bounce.
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Sam Varley
