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Sunderland
League One | Gameweek 22
Dec 11, 2021 at 3pm UK
Stadium of Light
Plymouth Argyle

Sunderland
2 - 1
Plymouth

Neill (4'), Broadhead (13')
Winchester (45+1'), Stewart (54'), Wright (77'), O'Brien (81')
FT(HT: 2-0)
Scarr (64')
Edwards (22'), Houghton (85')

Preview: Sunderland vs. Plymouth Argyle - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's League One clash between Sunderland and Plymouth Argyle, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Steven Schumacher will be take charge of his first away game as Plymouth Argyle boss when he takes his side to the North East for Saturday's League One encounter with Sunderland.

The hosts are looking to continue a five-game unbeaten league run, which has seen them climb up to fourth place as they head into the weekend only two points adrift of the automatic promotion places.


Match preview

Sunderland's Nathan Broadhead celebrates scoring their first goal against Wigan Athletic in the EFL Cup on September 21, 2021© Reuters

Sunderland will be aiming to collect consecutive victories on Saturday in a bid to challenge the top two in League One.

The Black Cats hosted Oxford United last weekend, but Leon Dajaku's opener was not enough to claim all three points as the visitors secured a point courtesy of Matty Taylor's equaliser.

Although they failed to claim victory in the Oxford clash, that result did not dampen spirits in the Sunderland dressing room as they responded by thumping Morecambe 5-0 in midweek.

Dajaku managed to get himself on the scoresheet once again, and there was a goal each for Ross Stewart and Alex Pritchard, while Nathan Broadhead grabbed himself a brace.

As they look to claim seven points from a possible nine in the last week, Sunderland will draw upon their impressive home form that has seen them win eight of their 10 home league games this season.

 Sheffield United's Oliver Norwood in action with Plymouth Argyle's Panutche Camar© Reuters

Plymouth will be bidding to end a tumultuous week on a high after they saw Ryan Lowe depart for Preston North End on Tuesday, and the Pilgrims wasted no time in appointing Schumacher as their new boss.

After spending the last couple of seasons as Lowe's assistant, Schumacher's first game in a full-time managerial role took place on Wednesday when he took his side to Milton Keynes Dons.

The first half did not go according to plan as the hosts took the lead through Tennai Watson, but Plymouth salvaged a point in the second period when Conor Grant equalised in the 66th minute.

That result leaves the Pilgrims in fifth position, with only two points separating them and Sunderland, and they could leapfrog their opponents with a victory.

After losing just once in their last nine league away trips, Plymouth will be confident that they can claim a positive result on Saturday.

Sunderland League One form:
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • W

Sunderland form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • W

Plymouth Argyle League One form:
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • D

Plymouth Argyle form (all competitions):
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • D



Team News

Sunderland manager Lee Johnson after the match on September 21, 2021© Reuters

Sunderland are still without Dennis Cirkin, Corry Evans and Denver Hume due to injury issues.

The hosts are also missing the injured duo of Aiden McGeady and Niall Huggins.

After such an impressive display in midweek, Lee Johnson could name an unchanged lineup for Saturday's contest.

Plymouth are likely to keep changes to a minimum, although Danny Mayor may come into the side with Ryan Broom dropping to the bench.

Ryan Hardie has top-scored for the visitors this season, and he will continue his forward partnership with Luke Jephcott on Saturday.

Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Hoffmann; Wright, Flanagan, Doyle; Gooch, Neil, Winchester, Dajaku; Pritchard, Broadhead, Stewart

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Wilson, Scarr, Gillesphey; Edwards, Camara, Houghton, Mayor, Grant; Jephcott, Hardie


SM words green background

We say: Sunderland 1-1 Plymouth Argyle

With only two points separating the sides in the table, this is likely to be a closely-fought contest, and although Sunderland are formidable at home, we think that Plymouth may snatch a point from the encounter.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 2.5:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sunderland win with a probability of 62.97%. A draw had a probability of 21.3% and a win for Plymouth Argyle had a probability of 15.68%.

The most likely scoreline for a Sunderland win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.04%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.64%) and 2-1 (9.81%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.15%), while for a Plymouth Argyle win it was 0-1 (5.25%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Sunderland would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Sunderland vs Plymouth

Sunderland
50.0%
Draw
11.5%
Plymouth Argyle
38.5%
26
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland1594225111431
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1510321971231
3Leeds UnitedLeeds158522491529
4Burnley157621861227
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom15672169725
6Watford158162322125
7Middlesbrough157352317624
8Millwall156541813523
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
10Bristol City155732019122
11Swansea CitySwansea155461110119
12Derby CountyDerby155461919019
13Stoke CityStoke155461819-119
14Norwich CityNorwich154652322118
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds155371725-818
16Oxford UnitedOxford Utd154561718-117
17Coventry CityCoventry154472021-116
18Plymouth ArgylePlymouth154471526-1116
19Hull City153661620-415
20Preston North EndPreston153661523-815
21Luton TownLuton154381726-915
22Cardiff CityCardiff154381423-915
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR151771225-1310


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