Sunderland target Northampton Town return as Portsmouth chief outlines problems facing League One rival

The Black Cats have so far had to postpone four league matches as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak at the Academy of Light, with Sunderland now facing a fixture pile-up in the first half of 2021.

A total of 13 positive cases have been recorded at Sunderland in the past two weeks, which led to the training ground being closed and matches postponed.

Tuesday night’s trip to Accrington Stanley was the latest game to be called off.

A club statement outlined the latest situation at Sunderland and added the club hoped to return to action this weekend.

It read: “Lee Johnson’s side are now set to return to action in the New Year, kicking off 2021 with a trip to Northampton Town on Saturday 2 January (KO 3pm).”

Meanwhile, Portsmouth chief executive Mark Catlin has opened up on the challenges facing his club.

Catlin said: “When looking ahead at games we go into the longer term where it’s difficult to comment because things change so quickly.

“Our current intention is to play Accrington, but a lot can change.

“People are self-isolating for a reason in this 10-day period.

“If they start to show symptoms we may have to test again.

“A test gives a snapshot in that moment in time.

“That person can test again in four or five days and test positive after being negative.

“It is our intention to play Accrington, but we’ve seen this is a situation which changes daily.”

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