Saturday 9 May 2015 14:30, UK
Sunderland travel to Everton on Saturday lunchtime hoping to secure a win to move them out of the relegation zone.
Dick Advocaat’s men earned a crucial three points against Southampton in their last outing, winning 2-1 courtesy of two Jordi Gomez penalties but still occupy the final relegation spot.
With trips to Arsenal and Chelsea in their final two games, the game at Goodison Park and next weekend’s clash with Leicester take on even greater importance with time running out to collect the points they need to survive.
Meanwhile, Everton suffered their first league defeat since early March at Aston Villa in their last match having won five of their previous six.
Roberto Martinez’s side have endured a disappointing campaign but will be attempting to end 2014/15 on a more positive note with a top-half finish.
Team news
Sunderland skipper John O'Shea will miss his first game of the season on Saturday.
The Republic of Ireland defender had played every minute of the campaign before he was forced off with a rib injury during last weekend's 2-1 victory over Southampton, and he has not managed to shake off the problem in time for trip to Goodison Park.
O'Shea will be joined on the sidelines by midfielder Jack Rodwell (hamstring), but the defender's loss will be mitigated by the return of Wes Brown from a knee injury, while striker Steven Fletcher is also included after recovering from a niggling ankle problem.
Defender Luke Garbutt returns to the squad after a bout of tonsillitis but will only be a substitute to face at Goodison Park.
Midfielder Steven Pienaar misses a fourth successive match as he is still not ready to come back from a muscle injury.
Bryan Oviedo and Darron Gibson (both broken metatarsals) and defender Tony Hibbert are the other long-term absentees.
Opta facts
Roberto Martinez’s side have lost just one of their last 14 Premier League games at Goodison Park (W7 D6 L1), winning the last four in a row.
Sunderland have failed to score in seven of their last 14 Premier League matches against Everton and netted only eight goals in total in that run.
The Toffees have conceded just seven goals in the last 14 home games and kept eight clean sheets including the last four in a row.
Sunderland have won just two of the last 20 Premier League games against Everton (W2 D5 L13), but were victorious on their last trip to Goodison Park.
The Black Cats have won none of their last eight Premier League matches on the road (W0 D4 L4).
The last seven goals Everton have scored in this fixture have been netted between the 75th and 81st minute.
Sunderland are looking to win back to back Premier League games for the first time this season.
Lee Cattermole has collected 13 yellow cards in the Premier League this season – the record in a single Premier League campaign is 14.
Sunderland have the lowest scoring top goalscorer in the Premier League this season – Conor Wickham with five goals.
Leighton Baines has nine assists in the Premier League this season; three more than any other defender and two away from his best ever tally in a PL campaign (11 in 2010-11).
Merson's prediction
I think Sunderland are struggling and while Everton did not have a great result last week at Aston Villa, I still expect them to win this game 3-1.
PAUL PREDICTS: 3-1 (14/1 with Sky Bet)
Betting
Everton are odds-on shots with Sky Bet to inflict a further body blow to Sunderland's Premier League survival hopes by recording another three points on Saturday. The Toffees have been flying of late while the Black Cats, despite last week's win over Southampton, are 4/6 to take the plunge. Everton have won their last four at Goodison to nil and Roberto Martinez's men are 2/1 to extend that run and 11/2 to record a third successive 1-0 victory in front of their own fans. Sunderland did spring an upset when they won the corresponding fixture on their last visit to Everton and a repeat of that 1-0 win is 10/1 with the online bookmaker. Romelu Lukaku is certain to be popular at 7/4 to net in a home win, while Jermain Defoe is 7/1 to break the deadlock for the visitors.
