Sunderland Women prepare for key Championship fixture against Blackburn Rovers

Sunderland Women could go joint-top of the Barclays Women’s Championship with a win against Blackburn Rovers as the Black Cats travel to Ewood Park on Saturday.

As the rest of the division plays on Sunday, victory against Rovers (KO 5.30pm) could see Sunderland finish the day level on points with league leaders Birmingham City, but second on goal difference. Rovers sit ninth in the Championship with six points, nine points behind Southampton in eighth.

The competitiveness of this season’s Championship sees only eight points separate the top eight out of 11 teams.

Both sides are fresh from Adobe Women’s FA Cup action, with the Black Cats progressing to the fourth round after a 7-1 thrashing of Exeter City. Rovers exited the Cup to Portsmouth, who they are battling relegation with.

Blackburn boss Simon Parker hailed Sunderland as a ‘good team’ ahead of the Ewood Park clash, asking supporters to: “Support us in the stands and make Ewood a fortress.”

This is the third meeting of the two clubs, each side winning once. Sunderland won the first fixture 2-1 at Eppleton in the Championship – Rovers won the Women’s League Cup fixture. The Black Cats are in fine form, winning four out of their last five games including a clean sheet at St Mary’s against Southampton.

With Birmingham and third-placed Bristol City facing off on Sunday – second-placed London City Lionesses not in action until February – Sunderland could go into their February 2nd clash with the Blues level on points at the summit.