Crucial games may impact Cats’ season
SUNDERLAND NOW KNOW LIE OF THE LAND
SUNDERLAND are back in the Championship, and now that the fixtures have been released supporters will already have started picking out the key dates.
The Black Cats’ return to the second tier sees them face Coventry City at the Stadium of Light in a televised game at the end of July, and ends with an awayday at Preston North End in early May next year.
But aside from those bookend fixtures, there are crucial games – some obvious, some less so – that could have a big impact on the club’s season.
After four tilts at promotion from League One, next season is likely to have a very different feel with only the biggest optimists seriously expecting Sunderland to mount a challenge this term. First and foremost, they have to establish themselves.
Coventry City (h), July 31
Sunderland’s return to the Championship will be screened live on Sky, and a good start to life back in the second tier is essential. The Black Cats are stepping up a division and it will be crucial for their morale to demonstrate that they can compete right from the off.
The fact they have a home game to start is a bonus and, TV game or not, there will be a bumper crowd at the Stadium of Light. Mark Robins’ Coventry finished 12th in the Championship last term, and this game will be a useful barometer of the standard Sunderland will need to meet.
Norwich City (h), August 27
The first really big test for Sunderland will see them face Norwich City at the Stadium of Light, and it will pit them against another side returning to the Championship – in the Canaries’ case, however, it is a step down as Dean Smith’s side were relegated from the Premier League last term.
Sunderland will be operating on an increased budget this season following promotion, but financially they will be blown out of the water by a Norwich side that is flush with Premier League cash and a parachute payment.
The difference between the quality of the squads will give Sunderland an early idea of the gap they will have to bridge before they are ready to compete for promotion. The game will also have an extra edge as it pits Alex Neil against one of his former clubs.
Middlesbrough (a), September 3
Local derby? Nah. It may be local, but it’s not the derby.
Anyway, the Tees-Wear game is one of those fixtures that Sunderland fans will be looking for – not least because there are a couple of familiar faces on Teesside in exSunderland men Paddy McNair and Duncan Watmore. Sunderland head to the Riverside in early September and it will be a testing game for the Black Cats against a Boro side that fell just short of the playoffs last season.
Reading (a), September 14
The first priority for Sunderland this season has to be to establish a foothold in the Championship and ensure they do not suffer the same fate as Peterborough who made an instant return to League One. That means the Black Cats will need to beat the teams in the lower reaches of the table, and Reading finished fourth-bottom last term – and would have done so even without the deduction of six points for breaching financial regulations.
The glitzy games against sides at the top of the table will get the most attention, but it is the gritty games down at the bottom that will be crucial for Sunderland to establish themselves.
Luton Town (a), October 29
Budget is a good guide to likely performance, but it is only a guide. Nathan Jones’ Luton demonstrated that last season as, despite having one of the lowest budgets in the division, they proved that a little can go a long way as they reached the play-offs.
Sunderland will be trying to produce a similar feat this season.
Birmingham City (a), November 12
This is where Sunderland sign off for the month-long break that has been incorporated into the season to accommodate the World Cup in Qatar. A win at St Andrew’s would at least mean that Sunderland enter that break on a high, and the fact that they are playing a Blues side that finished fifth-bottom last term gives them a decent chance of earning the win they need.
West Bromwich Albion (h), December 12
Following on from the above, this is Sunderland’s first game back after the World Cup interlude. In many ways it will feel like restarting the season, so it is important they hit the ground running.
The return of former Sunderland boss Steve Bruce, now in charge of the Baggies, to the Stadium of Light should add to the atmosphere.
Blackburn Rovers (h), December 26
Festive fixtures are always a highlight, and Sunderland’s Boxing Day clash with Blackburn will draw a huge crowd to the Stadium of Light. Blackburn finished eighth last season, failing to make the play-offs, with Tony Mowbray departing this summer to be replaced as manager by ex-Newcastle striker Jon Dahl Tomasson.
It will be a stern test for Sunderland over the Christmas period, but by then they should have the measure of the division.
Millwall (a), February 4
The first game after the January transfer deadline, so by this point Alex Neil will know exactly what he has to work with for the remainder of the campaign. Of course, new arrivals will still be bedding in but at least we will know what shape the squad is in for the final three months of the season.
Preston North End (a), May 6
If the Black Cats struggle, and it goes to the wire, this game could be crucial. If it’s a day devoid of drama, that’ll do nicely.