Sunderland 0 Blackpool 0: Highlights as Tony Mowbray's side are held to another goalless draw

Sunderland are back in action tonight as they face Blackpool at the Stadium of Light.

Tony Mowbray’s side were held to a goalless draw with Preston on Saturday but still played some promising stuff despite the stalemate.

Tonight they face a Tangerines side who have lost their last three matches but were unfortunate to lose 1-0 against Norwich last time out.

We’ll have all 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.

We’ll start with the Sunderland team news.

The Black Cats once again played without a recognised striker against Preston, with Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms both unavailable.

Stewart was diagnosed with a grade three thigh tear and expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks after sustaining the injury ahead of Sunderland’s match against Middlesbrough a month ago.

Mowbray has said he thinks Stewart will be back on the grass before the World Cup break in November, yet it’s unclear when the forward will return to competitive action.

Simms has also missed the Black Cats’ last two matches after suffering ligament damage in his big toe.

The 21-year-old now looks set to be sidelined for the next few weeks.

Defender Dennis Cirkin has returned to training following a hamstring issue and is set to be included in the squad tonight.

Mowbray has also suggested new signing Edouard Michut is closing in on his Sunderland debut.

Here’s what the Sunderland boss had to say about tonight’s opponents:

“I think watching them they are a well coached team.

“I watched the game against Norwich at the weekend which they lost 1-0, as we lost 1-0 against Norwich at home.

“They were very positive, played on the front foot and showed they are a good team with good players.

“It’s very rare you would ever sit here and say ‘ we have to beat these, they are not very good’ and Blackpool are a well-coached, organised team, very athletic.

“If you are not right you will get beat and we have to make sure we are very competitive all over the pitch.”

Blackpool have dropped to 19th in the Championship table following three successive defeats, including Saturday’s 1-0 loss against Norwich.

The Tangerines are also dealing with several injury issues, with Rhys Williams, Kevin Stewart, Lewis Fiorini, Keshi Anderson, Jake Beesley and James Husband all set to miss tonight’s game.

To find out more we caught up with Blackpool writer Matt Scrafton from our sister title the Blackpool Gazette on the latest episode of The Roar Podcast

You can listen to the full episode here

Here’s what he said when asked about the side’s start to the season

“It’s been a bit of a mixed bag really.

“If this game had come sort of three or four weeks ago and you’d asked this question before the three straight defeats, there was a lot of positivity.

“I think it’s fair to say when Michael Appleton took over it was a mixed reaction and he was no one’s number one choice. Neil Critchley’s departure in the summer left the club in a bit of a hole really given how important he was to the club.

“The football being played is better to watch than under Neil Critchley. Neil Critchley was very structured and disciplined off the ball and it was very successful even though it wasn’t always the best watch.

“There was a feeling that the football was getting better this season and that the results were just as good, signs of progress. Then all of a sudden three defeats on the spin, which can happen in this division, has caused a bit of concern.”

Read more here

Here’s what Blackpool boss Michael Appleton told our sister title the Blackpool Gazette when asked about Sunderland and the Black Cats not playing with a recognised striker.

“It does make them a little unpredictable.

“I had a similar sort of problem a couple of seasons ago where we went through a long spell of having no strikers and I had to do a similar thing and it isn’t easy.

“What I would say is that the players filling in those roles are pretty decent players, they’re good footballers.

“But it’s a situation where normally with Stewart and Simms up top they’re a little bit more predictable. That’s not to say it’s easy to cope with or deal with, it just means you know what’s coming.

“Whereas now they’re a little bit more fluid and expansive and can at times be more dangerous.”

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

Predicted Sunderland XI: Patterson, Gooch, O’Nien, Batth, Alese, Evans, Neil, Roberts, Pritchard, Clarke, Amad

Predicted Blackpool XI: Maxwell, Gabriel, Ekpiteta, Thorniley, Thompson, Connolly, Patino, Wright, Corbeanu, Poveda, Madine

So it’s one change for Sunderland following Saturday’s draw against Preston.

Amad comes in to make his first Black Cats start as Dan Neil drops to the bench.

Edouard Michut is also in the squad for the first time but there is still no Dennis Cirkin in the matchday 18.

Blackpool make three changes following their 1-0 defeat against Norwich last time out.

Callum Connolly, Shayne Lavery and Gary Madine come into the starting XI in place of Jordan Gabriel, Ian Poveda and Theo Corbeanu.