Sunderland have been tipped to fall to yet another defeat this weekend when they host relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers at the Stadium of Light.
After a season of early promise, where Tony Mowbray looked set to guide the Black Cats to back-to-back top six finishes, the campaign now appears to be drifting into obscurity after a run of dreadful form.
The 60-year-old was sacked in early December and was replaced by Michael Beale. However, things went from bad to worse under the ex-Rangers boss, and he too was shown the exit door after just 12 games in charge.
Mike Dodds was handed the reins on an interim basis for the third time, this time tasked with stabilising the club before a permanent successor is named this summer. The freefall has continued in recent weeks though, and the Wearsiders head into this weekend’s fixture on a run of six successive defeats.
There have been glimpses of improvement. Last Saturday’s loss against Southampton saw Sunderland recover from two goals down to draw level late on before Joe Rothwell came off the bench to hit a brace and secure the victory for the Saints. That game followed a narrow reverse against table-toppers Leicester City.
Of course, losing talisman Jack Clarke to injury hasn’t helped the situation. The 23-year-old is the club’s top scorer with 15 goals but was ruled out for six weeks with an ankle injury at the end of last month.
On paper, facing a QPR side battling to remain in the Championship seems like the perfect opportunity to return to winning ways. Football isn’t won on paper though, and the Hoops have tasted defeat just twice in their last 10 league games.
Marti Cifuentes has performed wonders since taking charge in October and they have moved out of the bottom three in recent weeks. As a result, Sky Sports pundit David Prutton expects the Londoners to inflict more damage on struggling Sunderland. Writing in his weekly prediction column, the former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder said:
“Six defeats on the bounce now for Sunderland. It is troubling times, and Mike Dodds needs to find a way to turn things around before they fall any further.
“QPR were beaten at home by Middlesbrough last time out, but need to rally because they are still in the thick of a relegation battle and this is a very winnable fixture – which I think they’ll take three points from.”
Prutton then went on to predict a 2-1 win for the visitors, which would hand Sunderland their seventh defeat in succession.
Writer’s View
Sunderland fans will be keen to see the back of the 2023/24 season. After sneaking into the play-offs last year, it was hoped that the team would be able to build on that success and challenge for a place in the Premier League. However, it is now about looking to the future.
The Black Cats have made the decision to wait until the summer to appoint a permanent manager, showing that they are willing to write off this campaign in order to find the right man. With that said, a quick change in fortunes could still see them push for a top six finish, but that seems a tall order.