The Black Cats have suffered three defeats in a row and although they currently occupy a playoff berth, their automatic promotion hopes are fading, and teams below are catching up fast.
However, a new manager will bring optimism back to Wearside and Sunderland have 15 games to make good on their early season promise and end the season on a high.
Is automatic promotion a likely outcome this season? Or will it be the dreaded playoffs once again for Sunderland? Or worse?
Here, courtesy of FiveThirtyEight, a ‘supercomputer’ has predicted how the 2021/22 League One season will finish and which position each team is most likely to finish the season in, based on statistical analysis.
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Is automatic promotion a likely outcome this season? Or will it be the dreaded playoffs once again for Sunderland? Or worse?