Sunderland vs West Brom: Baggies take three points after Daryl Dike and Tom Rogic goals
and live on Freeview channel 276
Weather conditions on Wearside are far from ideal with snowfall on the ground this morning and the thermometer reading minus one meaning tonight’s clash is set to be a cold one.
West Brom visit Sunderland in the second tier and a win could see Tony Mowbray’s men move up to seventh position and 10 points clear of the three relegation spots.
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Hide AdThe big news surrounding the game, however, is the potential return to action of star striker Ross Stewart following a lengthy injury lay-off. Sunderland’s star striker has been out since September but is expected to make the bench this evening.
Here, though, we’ll have LIVE updates during the build-up, the game and the aftermath:
Sunderland 1-2 West Brom LIVE: Updates as Black Cats face Baggies with no Ross Stewart in squad
Key Events
- The Black Cats could move up to seventh place with a win and move 10 points clear of the relegation spots
- Ross Stewart has missed out on making Sunderland’s squad for the game against West Brom
- SAFC XI: Patterson, Gooch, O’Nien, Batth, Alese, Evans, Neil, Embleton, Pritchard, Amad, Simms
- SUBS: Bass, Hume, Cirkin, Ba, Dajaku, Roberts, Clarke
What is the latest with the weather? Could the game get called off?
Weather conditions in and around Sunderland are currently poor after snowfall last night.
Although roads have been gritted, some pathways in and around the area remain slippy due to unthawed snow turning into ice owing to the cold tempartures on Wearside.
There has been no suggestion from Sunderland AFC, the EFL or the local authorities that the game against West Brom will be called off this evening but we will keep supporters updated with fresh information as we get it.
The Met Office is predicting a cloudy series of days leading into next week with yellow weather warnings for ice between Tuesday, December 13, and Thursday, December 15.
According to the Met Office forecast at time of writing, the Yellow warning for snow and ice affecting the North East will begin at 12am on Tuesday, December 13 running until 12pm on Thursday, December 15. Public transport services could be impacted by the weather, while motorists may face delays on the region’s roads due to ice and snow.
In North East England, the affected local authority areas are; Durham, Gateshead, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Redcar and Cleveland, South Tyneside, Stockton-on-Tees and Sunderland.
On Monday, public transport services across the region were hit by the continuing cold weather.
When will Dan Ballard return to Sunderland’s first-team squad?
Dan Ballard is expected to feature for Sunderland’s youth team tonight as he steps up his recovery from injury.
The central defender has been out for four months after suffering a foot fracture during the QPR game back in August.
The 22-year-old will travel to Berkshire for the Premier League 2 encounter against Reading as the first team play Millwall in the Championship.
Head coach Tony Mowbray said: “Dan Ballard has been in full training in the last couple of days. We’re looking to give him some game time at Reading away for the Under-21’s. Then that is him just about up and running as well if he gets some game time.
“He looks really powerful and strong in training as I expected. We’re nearly getting there where everybody is going to be available.”
What is the latest on Ross Stewart’s injury?
After the game against Millwall, Tony Mowbray had this to say on the fitness of Ross Stewart. The striker has been out of action since September with a muscle injury.
“There was no pressure to play him [on Saturday] but what’s important is the factor of trust in the medical department, and my relationship with Ross,” Mowbray told safc.com.
“The medical department thought it was too dangerous a risk to play Ross at the weekend. If he’d started or come off the bench and then had to go back off the pitch again because he was limping, you’d say we got that wrong.
“For me, Ross should train for a whole week and there are nine days between the Millwall and West Brom games, when he’ll be training a lot.
“We have a behind-closed-doors game with Middlesbrough which he could play some part in – he’s chomping at the bit to get back out there.”