Middlesbrough loanee Lewis Wing reveals the gameplan behind Sheffield Wednesday's win over Sunderland as Mansfield Town injuries grow with former Newcastle United man set to miss FA Cup clash at the Stadium of Light

The Black Cats fell to a 1-0 defeat to the Stags that day under Phil Parkinson but will be hoping for better this afternoon as Lee Johnson’s side look to end a run of consecutive defeats in the league.

The Wearsiders have suffered two heavy losses in the last seven days against promotion rivals Rotherham United and Sheffield Wednesday and a third defeat in a row in all competitions this afternoon will only increase pressure on head coach Johnson.

But, ahead of today’s game, we look at some of the latest Sunderland-related gossip.

Wing reveals Owls gameplan

It was a disappointing night for the Wearsiders on Tuesday after they were heavily beaten by League One rivals Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough in front of nearly 4,000 travelling supporters..

The Black Cats slipped to a 3-0 defeat in South Yorkshire, just three days after suffering a 5-1 defeat 10 miles away in Rotherham at the New York Stadium.

And Middlesbrough loan midfielder Lewis Wing has revealed how the Owls used Rotherham’s win over the Wearsiders as a template for their success on Tuesday night.

“We saw that Rotherham and Charlton turned them over by getting in their faces and being aggressive, so we looked at that and we got in their faces and we did what Rotherham did to them and what Charlton did to them,” said Wing.

“The gameplan worked. But as a team I just felt it all clicked, we kept our shape right, we defended well, we just did everything right and it showed in our performance.

“It’s been a long time coming. For whatever reason I don’t know why it hasn’t been happening.”

Mansfield absentees

While Sunderland’s priority will be on getting promotion from League One this season, Johnson will be looking at this afternoon’s clash with League Two Mansfield as an opportunity to arrest his side’s slump in form.

And the Black Cats look set to come up against a fairly depleted Stags outfit with Nigel Clough missing several of his squad through injury for the visit to the Stadium of Light.

Mansfield will be without defender Richard Nartey and midfielder Ryan Stirk while former Newcastle United man James Perch won’t feature for the Stags again this season because of a fractured skull that has seen him sidelined for most of the campaign.

Full-back Stephen McLaughlin is also a doubt after being taken off with a hamstring injury during their 2-0 victory over Tranmere Rovers last weekend while Elliott Hewitt is also questionable for the trip with Clough struggling for options in defence.

Striker James Gale, a new signing at the club, is cup-tied having featured in the competition for Long Eaton United during the qualifying rounds.

One positive for Clough comes in the return of midfielder, and last season’s cup hero for the Stags, George Lapslie who is available after serving his suspension.

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