Tigers’ upturn in fortunes sees them favourites to stay up

Over the last month or so, Sunderland have played a string of teams in bottom half of the table, Burnley, Watford, West Ham, Middlesbrough and Bournemouth, without winning any of them.

So there’s no reason to think they can beat another struggler when we play Hull City on Saturday.

Throw in Hull’s excellent home form of late, and Sunderland’s complete lack of confidence and belief, and it’s no wonder Hull are clear favourites.

At the end of last season, Sunderland finished strongly and had a promising team, while at the same time, Hull were limping into the Premier League via the play-offs.

They then started this season with a threadbare squad and without the manager who took them up, Steve Bruce.

So how is it possible that Sunderland and Hull have passed each other, Sunderland now a Championship team, while Hull have a good chance of staying up.

Even when the two played back in November, a 3-0 home win that gave Sunderland fans a rare enjoyable weekend, Hull were so bad it looked impossible for them to stay up.

However, a bright new manager Marco Silva and a successful January transfer window turned the Tigers’ season around, while at the same time, Sunderland were sinking like a stone.

Hull have a couple exSunderland players in Elmohamady and N’Diaye, who will both have a point to prove as neither player could be called a regular starter in their time on Wearside.

Yet both have played a big part in Hull’s dramatic improvement.

Just a few months ago this game looked as if it could be a relegation decider, but Sunderland’s abysmal season means the result doesn’t really matter in any meaningful way as points won’t make Sunderland safe now and sadly all we’ve got play for is pride.