Sunderland vs Watford Predictions

• Sunderland have won four of their last six home league games with under 3.5 goals in five of them
• Watford have lost their last three Championship matches either 2-1 or 1-0
• Wilson Isidor has scored in five of his last eight Championship appearances

Black Cats can capitalise on rivals’ cup commitments

Sunderland can steal a march on a couple of their automatic promotion rivals by winning Saturday’s Championship clash against struggling Watford. The Black Cats have been on a high this week after defeating Middlesbrough in Monday’s Tees-Wear derby while the mood around Vicarage Road has been one of doom and gloom.

Tom Cleverley’s job is hanging by a thread after three consecutive league defeats dropped the Hornets down to 12th place in the table and the lack of transfer activity late in the window suggests the board have lost faith in any late charge.

Sunderland may have made the signing of the January transfer window with the capture of Enzo Le Fee on loan from Roma and they also managed to tie top scorer Wilson Isidor down on a permanent deal.

Hornets are stuck in a repeating rut

Isidor is in the sort of form that makes him an obvious candidate to score in this clash, as he has done in five of Sunderland’s last eight Championship fixtures. Watford will no doubt come to the Stadium of Light with the plan of keeping it tight and trying to nick a goal if the hosts over-commit, but their confidence is low at the moment.

The Hornets have won only three away league games all season and look unlikely to stop a repeating pattern of losses by either 2-1 or 1-0.

Sunderland have won four of their last six home league games with under 3.5 goals in five of them, so that is the main recommendation here with a 2-1 correct score play worthwhile given the hosts’ own struggles to keep clean sheets.