Sunderland face Bristol City in the Championship on Friday afternoon

Former EFL striker Sam Parkin has predicted that Sunderland will lose to Bristol City on Good Friday, with the Black Cats currently stuck in the midst of a “peculiar period”.

Regis Le Bris’ side have already guaranteed their place in next month’s Championship play-offs, but have looked decidedly lacklustre in recent outings, and suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Swansea City on Saturday afternoon - just their second loss on home soil this season.

Sunderland’s starting XI has also been the subject of greater rotation in recent weeks, with Le Bris looking to strike a balance between maintaining positive momentum heading into the play-offs and the fitness of his squad.

On Friday, the Frenchman will take his team to Ashton Gate to face a Bristol City side who harbour promotion ambitions of their own. Heading into the weekend, the Robins are fifth in the table, 12 points behind Sunderland with four matches left to play.

What did Sam Parkin say about Bristol City vs Sunderland?

And looking ahead to the meeting between the two sides, Parkin has suggested that the Black Cats could be in for another disappointing outing this weekend. Speaking on the Championship Score Predictions show, he said: “2-1 Bristol City feels like quite a regular outcome at Ashton Gate”,

“I think it is difficult for the Sunderland players - really difficult. Something I spoke to some people on a different podcast about this really peculiar period that they are in right now, knowing that they are in the playoffs, how to go about it? Unknown territory, I would imagine, for a lot of the lads and also the coach, so I will go for Bristol City to win out again at home, where they have been really, really good.”

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What has Regis Le Bris said about Sunderland’s current situation?

Speaking during a post-match press conference after Sunderland’s defeat to Swansea, Le Bris said: "It's a weird period at the moment, a well-deserved one because we have done very well.

“I understand it is hard for the fans at the moment because we have lost at home. We are unhappy with the result, 100%, this is clear - but at the same time the play-offs are clearly our main purpose. The first idea is to have fresh, available players. We have to manage the squad and I repeat, this also means we can give young players chances. They will grow for these experiences.

"We had good news with Salis [Abdul Samed] being back on the pitch, managing Leo [Hjelde], we will have Jobe [Bellingham] next week... we have a good dynamic. I think this is part of the process, I'm not concerned. We want to improve our game, of course. It doesn't mean we are happy with what we saw on the pitch, we are not, but we had well organised opponents and when you're not at your top level you struggle."

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