Former Sunderland youth star pokes fun at ex-Newcastle United man as Brian Deane delivers promotion prediction

Sunderland return to Championship action on Friday night when they face Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. The Black Cats lost consecutive matches against Leeds United and Hull City last week, and will be eager to return to winning ways.

But before then, there is still plenty of news to be sifting through on Wearside. With that in mind, here a few of the pieces that you might have missed over the past day or two, from the Stadium of Light and beyond.

Take a look below...

Deane delivers automatic promotion prediction

Former Leeds and Sheffield United striker Brian Deane has delivered his verdict on the race for promotion from the Championship this season, and is seemingly of the opinion that Sunderland’s hopes of a top two finish now lie in tatters.

The Black Cats are currently eight points adrift of the automatic spots having lost to Leeds and Hull, and speaking to Football League World, Deane has expressed his belief that the tussle for first and second is now a three-horse race between his two former clubs and Burnley.

He said: "I think Leeds is probably a given [for promotion] now. What they’ve done in the games beating Sheffield United and Sunderland last week has broken the back. They just have to match other teams now, and they have too many games and teams will have to win too many games and Leeds lose too many games now.

"I think Sheffield United aren’t a shoo-in but they’ve got enough to win enough games to go up now. Their form has been a bit patchy of late, but I still believe that they’ll have enough to go up, but it won’t be straightforward and will have to do something about their consistency. It will be close between Burnley and Sheffield United, but I just fancy United to nick it."

Triantis stars again

Elsewhere, Sunderland loanee Nectar Triantis once again played an influential role as Hibernian sealed a vital Scottish Premiership win over fellow European hopefuls Dundee United on Wednesday evening. Hibs came from behind to seal a 3-1 victory away from home, with David Gray’s men scoring in the 90th minute to go ahead before compounding the result with a third strike deep into stoppage time.

And Triantis, who is enjoying a rich purple patch north of the border, laid on a fabulous assist for his side’s crucial second. The Australian now has eight goal contributions in his last 11 league outings from the centre of midfield.

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Keillor-Dunn pokes fun at Nolan

And finally, Sunderland-born Barnsley midfielder Davis Keillor-Dunn took it upon himself to poke fun at former Newcastle United star Kevin Nolan as his side ran out 2-1 winners over Northampton Town on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old - who was previously a youth player for both Sunderland and Newcastle, and who has been christened the Mackem Messi by some sections of the Tykes’ fanbase - scored both goals for his side against the Cobblers, who are currently managed by Nolan.

After finding the back of the net, Keillor-Dunn made a point of celebrating with Nolan’s iconic chicken dance - which he pulled out during his hat-trick turn in the Magpies’ infamous 5-1 Wear-Tyne derby victory back in 2010 - in full view of the Northampton boss.

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