PREVIEW | Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers - team news, lineups, predictions | OneFootball

Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers face each other this Monday at the Stadium of Light in Matchweek 44 of the EFL Championship.

The Mackems are fourth in the division on 76 points and their pre-playoff lull continued with a 2-1 reverse against Bristol City in their last fixture.

Blackburn moved back into the top 10 in the table with a 4-1 victory over Millwall, and the pressure is off Rovers with five games still to play this term.

The last meeting between the two teams ended in a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture earlier in the season.

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Stephen Gillett (Playmaker Stats): As our normal contributor Graham Falk has remarked recently, it does seem like the Black Cats have devised a cunning plan which involves them lulling future play-off opponents into a false sense of security by taking their foot right off the gas.

Regis Le Bris' side are now three without a win after their 2-1 reverse to Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Good Friday. That game saw the in-form Robins best their out-of-sorts visitors after falling behind to Eliezer Mayenda's first-half strike for the Mackems.  Neither Blackburn nor Sunderland have huge amounts on the line here, and that makes a prediction all the harder! We'll back the Black Cats as they will surely want to warm up a little before the play-offs begin.   Prediction: 2-1

Stephen Gillett (Playmaker Stats): Blackburn don't really do draws (they've only shared the spoils on eight occasions this season) and their tendency to blow hot or cold was underscored by a thumping 4-1 win over Millwall on Good Friday.

Ismael's side are now three unbeaten after a torrid sequence of five straight losses...so who knows how they'll fare in this one!

Rovers' goal blitz at the weekend was the first time they have scored four in a league game since a 4-1 win over Derby on the opening day of the season...but, perhaps tellingly, their goals were scored by two defenders (Callum Brittain and Dominic Hyam) and a midfielder (Sondre Tronstad).

Relatively prolific at Ewood Park, Rovers have struggled for goals away from home and - as mentioned - our money's on Sunderland for this one.

Prediction: 2-1

Predicted lineups

Sunderland: Anthony Patterson, Tom Lavery, Chris Mepham, Luke O´Nien, Leo Hjelde, Daniel Neil, Enzo Le Fée, Chris Rigg, Patrick Roberts, Eliezer Mayenda, Tom Watson

Blackburn Rovers: Balázs Tóth, Callum Brittain, Danny Batth, Dominic Hyam, Yuri Ribeiro, Sondre Tronstad, Lewis Travis, Tyrhys Dolan, Todd Cantwell, Ryan Hedges, Yuki Ohashi

Unavailable

Sunderland

Blackburn Rovers

Last starting XIs

Sunderland ( vs Bristol City 2025-04-18): Anthony Patterson, Trai Hume, Chris Mepham, Leo Hjelde, Daniel Neil, Enzo Le Fée, Chris Rigg, Luke O´Nien, Patrick Roberts, Eliezer Mayenda, Tom Watson

Blackburn Rovers ( vs Millwall 2025-04-18): Balázs Tóth, Callum Brittain, Dominic Hyam, Danny Batth, Yuri Ribeiro, Sondre Tronstad, Lewis Travis, Ryan Hedges, Todd Cantwell, Tyrhys Dolan, Yuki Ohashi