Jamie Carragher has once again tipped Sunderland to be relegated from the Premier League this season...

The Overlap panel were once again divided when it came to predicting Sunderland’s Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest – with Jamie Carragher sticking by his call that the Black Cats will be relegated this season.

Carragher opened with a joke about Forest’s Europa League tie, recalling a recent airport encounter with a supporter. “Forest Sunderland, eh, I can’t see Sunderland winning in a forest. Saturday. Wait, you know what? They’re playing tonight, I saw a Forest fan in the airport,” he said.

Roy Keane quickly chipped in: “Exactly! You’re an expert in Spanish football, aren’t you?” Carragher replied: “Yeah, they’re playing Real Betis. That’s right. Tonight, they’re out tomorrow. He called me, he said, hi mate can you sign this – I went, yeah. He said, Forest fans don’t like you!”

As the conversation turned serious, Jill Scott pressed Carragher on whether he still believed Sunderland would go down. “Jamie, do you still think Sunderland are going to get relegated?” she asked. Carragher doubled down: “I think they will, yeah.” Scott reacted with disbelief – “Do you!?” – before Carragher added: “You don’t change your predictions in September.”

Gary Neville tried to inject some balance, saying: “I like Sunderland,” before offering his own match view. When Scott suggested 2-2, Roy Keane dismissed it outright: “Nah, it won’t be 2-2.” Ian Wright leaned towards a stalemate, admitting: “I feel like it’s up in the air. It’s a draw, though. It is a draw.”

Carragher, however, called it narrowly for the hosts: “2-1, Forest.” Neville signed off with a hint of sympathy for Sunderland’s chances, saying: “I’d have even lent it to Sunderland. Overruled.” The Black Cats kick off against Forest at 5:30pm at the City Ground on Saturday.

Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville’s prediction: Nottingham Forest 2-1 Sunderland

Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Jill Scott’s prediction: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Sunderland

Roy Keane delivers Sunderland verdict

Keane has praised Régis Le Bris and Sunderland’s transfer strategy following the club’s encouraging return to the Premier League.

The former Black Cats boss was speaking on the latest episode of Stick to Football, where Sunderland earned plaudits for taking a point against Aston Villa despite playing most of the match with ten men. Keane said he had been impressed with both the physicality and the pragmatism of Le Bris’ side since winning promotion.

“The good thing about the promoted teams is they’re happy to play without the ball,” Keane said. “They’ve got physically bigger players. They’re getting results with less of the ball. Sunderland are not obsessed with possession.

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“They’ve got big, strong players. That manager has done a great job. Even the other day when they go down to ten, there’s a nice energy and feel-good factor about the team. They’re recruitment has been good. Goalkeeper is good, a bit of experience with Xhaka. They’ve got energy and quality. Energy from young players around Xhaka’s experience. The manager there has done a great job.”

With all three promoted clubs enjoying positive starts, Jamie Carragher suggested more established sides could be under threat this season. “The decision for owners this season might be different because the promoted teams are doing OK,” Carragher said.

“In the past, they probably think they’ll be OK. Even going five games without winning a game, you’ve been getting to ten games of the season with promoted teams not winning a game. I think that has probably saved a few managers in the last few years, I think this year it might be a bit more back to the norm.”

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