Sunderland play host to Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon looking to bolster their position in the top six of the Championship standings.
However, they face their rivals in the Tees-Wear derby at a time when Boro are one of the form teams in the division, a consequence of three consequence wins.
Match preview
© Reuters
Since starting the season with back-to-back defeats, Sunderland have been close to perfection in the Championship, winning six of their following eight matches.
The recent home defeat to Cardiff City - one suffered courtesy of a 1-0 scoreline through a late goal - came as a disappointment, yet Tony Mowbray's side have since responded in fine style.
A dominant 3-0 victory at lowly Sheffield Wednesday was followed by a 2-0 triumph over Watford at the Stadium of Light, those goals meaning that Sunderland now have the third-best attacking record in the division.
Perhaps more notably, Sunderland have been outstanding in defence, conceding just four times in their most recent eight outings and never shipping more than twice in a single game this season.
However, although the foundations have been laid to challenge the likes of Leicester City and Ipswich Town, the Black Cats are now facing one of the in-form teams in the division.
That is something that could not have been said a few weeks ago when Michael Carrick's team had failed to win any of their opening seven games in the second tier.
Boro have recorded three successive wins over Southampton, Watford and Cardiff City, scoring seven goals in the process and catapulting the club back up the table.
Although Boro are still only three points clear of the relegation zone, any concerns over being in a battle to avoid the drop feels like a thing of a past.
That said, Carrick had not witnessed his team keep a Championship clean sheet this campaign until they defeated Cardiff by a 2-0 scoreline in midweek.
Team News
© Reuters
Alex Pritchard joined the Sunderland injury list earlier this week, and the playmaker will not return until after the international break.
Barring any further issues from the win over Watford, Mowbray will likely start with the same XI, keeping Mason Burstow down the centre of the attack.
That would see Adil Aouchiche have to remain patient for a first Championship start, but Pierre Ekwah, Bradley Dack and Dennis Cirkin all stay sidelined.
Despite Boro seeing off Cardiff in midweek, Carrick will consider making changes to his starting lineup for a game of this magnitude.
Darragh Lenihan and Jonny Howson will be assessed after illness, while the fitness of Matt Crooks is being managed in the short term, leading to him dropping down to the substitutes' bench against the Bluebirds.
Emmanuel Latte Lath could come into the attack ahead of Josh Coburn having gotten on the scoresheet during the latter stages on Tuesday.
Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Patterson; Huggins, Ballard, O'Nien, Hume; Ba, Roberts, Neil, Bellingham, Clarke; Burstow
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Smith, Fry, Lenihan, Engel; Howson, Hackney; Jones, Crooks, McGree; Lath
We say: Sunderland 2-2 Middlesbrough
Despite their contrasting fortunes throughout this season, this match looks evenly-poised given how Boro have improved of late. We expect a thriller of a game, one which Sunderland may salvage a share of the spoils from during the closing stages.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Darren Plant
