Fulham 1 Sunderland 1: Highlights as FA Cup tie goes to replay after Ross Stewart injury blow

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Sunderland’s FA Cup fourth round tie at Fulham.

The Black Cats will be looking to maintain their momentum following last weekend’s Championship win over Middlesbrough, yet it won’t be easy against Premier League opposition.

We’ll have all of the build-up ahead of the match, as well as in-game analysis and post-match reaction.

Stick around and refresh the page for live updates.

So Sunderland have now completed three new signings this month following the arrivals of midfielder Pierre Ekwah, winger Isaac Lihadji and forward Joe Gelhardt.

The Black Cats could still be active in the transfer market ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, with the club still keen to sign another young striker on a permanent deal.

While Tony Mowbray admitted on Thursday a deal is unlikely, Sunderland are also still monitoring Ellis Simms’ situation at Everton. A decision will ultimately rest with the Premier League club, though, with The Toffees set to appoint Sean Dyche as their new boss.

Sunderland are also considering signing another holding midfielder, with captain Corry Evans set to miss the remainder of the season.

There could also be outgoings if Sunderland feel they have enough cover, with defender Bailey Wright attracting interest.

Sunderland are still dealing with several injury setbacks, with captan Corry Evans set to miss the rest of the season after suffering damage to his anterior cruciate ligament.

Full-back Dennis Cirkin and playmaker Alex Pritchard remain doubts for today’s match, while the Black Cats will have to assess Aji Alese’s fitness after the defender was forced off in the win over Middlesbrough last time out.

Niall Huggins has also just returned from an injury setback and may not be risked.

Luke O’Nien is still suspended, while Elliot Embleton is a long-term absentee.

Here’s what Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray had to say about the FA Cup and today’s opponents:

“I think the history of every football club is crucially important.

“I’m very conscious of 50 years ago and we want to do well, but we have to put into context we are playing one of the form team from the Premier League at the moment.

“I know they have lost two really tight games, and I’ve watched both of those games and didn’t think they deserved to lose either of them.

“When I look at their squad and the players who haven’t played on a regular basis are still players that played every week in the Championship last year. Tom Cairney hasn’t been a regular starter, Harry Wilson, yet they tore the Championship to shreds last year and were way too good.

“I think whatever team they put out they will be really difficult to play against.”

Despite back-to-back defeats against Newcastle and Tottenham, Fulham are seventh in the top-flight following last season’s promotion from the Championship.

To find out more we caught up with The Athletic’s Fulham reporter Peter Rutzler on the latest episode of The Roar Podcast.

You can listen to the full episode here

Here’s what he said when asked how seriously The Cottagers’ will take the FA Cup:

“I think they will take it quite seriously.

“Because of where they are and they have this sizable gap to the bottom three, they are on 31 points so are three wins away from 40. It gives them a bit more licence to take the cup competition a bit more seriously.

“The third-round win over Hull was quite informative as it was a very senior team, you had some regulars starting and they also have some good rotation options.

“I think there will be some rotation and would be surprised if we saw Aleksandar Mitrovic who probably needs a break.

“In terms of the rest of the squad they have talent who need minutes to play.”

Here’s what Fulham boss Marco Silva had to say about the FA Cup, rotating his side and Sunderland ahead of today’s match:

“Some players deserve their chance, definitely. We rotated against Hull away from home and performed well. It’s a moment for us to see more minutes from some players.

“It’s our ambition to do well in the FA Cup, a historic competition that’s really important for all clubs. Myself as a manager and our players will do our best to go through.”

When asked about the Black Cats, Silva replied: “They’re really well-supported and tomorrow we’ll feel that we’re playing an FA Cup match against a club with a great fan base and a squad of players who want to do well in the competition.”

Here are our predicted line-ups for today’s match:

Predicted Fulham XI: Rodak, Tete, Adarabioyo, Diop, Kurzawa, Chalobah, Cairney, James, Pereira, Solomon, Vinicius

Predicted Sunderland XI: Patterson, Wright, Batth, Ballard, Hume, Neil, Michut, Roberts, Amad, Clarke, Stewart