Sunderland vs West Bromwich Albion Prediction: Saints will look for automatic promotion spots

Sunderland will welcome West Bromwich Albion at the Stadium of Light in Game Week 20 of the English Championship. Leicester defeated West Brom killing their streak. Who will come out on top after 90 minutes?

After suffering consecutive losses at the end of November against struggling Plymouth and relegation-threatened Huddersfield Town, Mowbray's tenure as Sunderland manager came to an end with a draw against Millwall at The Den. Despite Millwall's unlucky performance, they were unable to secure maximum points.

Former Hibernian striker Kevin Nisbet scored for Millwall towards the end of the first half, leading to a strong second-half performance from Sunderland. Jack Clarke scored his 10th goal of the season from the penalty spot after Ryan Leonard was adjudged to have fouled Clarke in the box.

Sunderland's decision to dismiss Mowbray on Monday evening was based on the club's long-term plan and vision, with reports suggesting their interest in luring Reims' Will Still from Ligue 1 to join the Championship promotion race. As the club considers potential managerial appointments, an interim coaching team led by Mike Dodds will take charge of first-team duties this weekend. Sunderland currently sits in ninth place in the Championship, three points behind sixth-placed Hull City led by Liam Rosenior.

Since Ross Stewart's departure to Southampton in the summer, Sunderland has lacked a reliable goal scorer. Midfielders Daniel Neil and Jobe Bellingham have three goals each and are joint-second in the club's Golden Boot race.

Patterson; Hume, O'Nien, Ballard, Huggins; Ekwah, Roberts, Neil, Bellingham, Clarke; Mayenda

West Brom's hopes of securing a third consecutive win in the Championship were dashed by Leicester as they suffered only their second home defeat of the season. Despite Josh Maja's goal cancelling out Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's opener, West Brom's efforts to secure a winner were foiled by Leicester, who scored a breakaway goal through Harry Winks. In their previous eight league matches, West Brom's only defeats came against title favourites Leicester and Southampton. With five wins during that period, West Brom currently sits fifth in the Championship table. Last season, West Brom struggled to accumulate points away from home, but this season they have shown the ability to grind out results on the road. They have already secured wins at Coventry City and Cardiff City. West Brom have a strong record against Sunderland, having remained unbeaten in their last four visits to the Stadium of Light. In their last encounter in December 2022, they secured a comeback victory with goals from Tom Rogic and Daryl Dike, although Rogic has since left the club and retired from professional football at the age of 30.

Palmer; Furlong, Ajayi, Kipre, Townsend; Mowatt, Molumby, Diangana, Swift, Sarmiento, Thomas-Asante

Sunderland has a sufficient attacking quality with the possible return of players like Bellingham and Roberts, which could pose a threat to West Brom in their upcoming match on Saturday. Although the recent loss to Leicester and Phillips's injury has the potential to disrupt Albion's positive streak, we anticipate Corberan's team to fight and secure at least one point in the Northeast region. Expect under 2.5 goals in the game.