Sunderland travel to relegation-threatened Doncaster Rovers on Monday afternoon knowing a win would see them move into second and within a point of table toppers Rotherham.

The Black Cats haven’t played since their decent display away at the Emirates in the Carabao Cup and will be hoping they have the quality to collect the three points to take them into the League One automatic promotion places.

The hosts, on the other hand, head into the game without a win over the visitors in any of the last six meetings between the sides since 2015 and sit just one point above the foot of the table in 23rd.

Doncaster haven’t played since the 11th December, when they picked up just their fourth league win this term in the 1-0 victory over Shrewsbury, who were hugely wasteful on the day.

Sunderland are currently seven games unbeaten in League One (4 wins and 3 draws) and were disappointed by the 1-1 scoreline last time out at Portman Road, as Nathan Broadhead netted his fifth of the season.

However, the visitors are without their star striker after the Everton-loanee limped off in the 5-1 defeat to Arsenal, having suffered a repeat of a hamstring injury.

Johnson’s side will be confident they can get back to winning ways this afternoon and continue their unbeaten run against Doncaster which dates back to 2015. The team in Red and White are looking for promotion back to the Championship after three long years in the third tier and will expecting to add three more points to their tally at the Keepmoat Stadium.

The Black Cats have moved to a more direct style in recent weeks which features front-foot, attacking football and they showed glimpses of their quality against Premier League opposition last time out.

Despite losing 5-1, the Wearsiders made a good account of themselves both on and off the pitch, and will be full of confidence ahead of their clash with Rovers. A win would see the Wearsiders leapfrog the Latics in second after their Boxing Day game was cancelled due to Covid.

The hosts are by far the lowest scoring side in the league and have netted just 13 times in 21 games. Since gaining promotion to League One in 2017, Doncaster have improved each season but this campaign has been a struggle for the home side who are currently second bottom of League One.

Sunderland have struggled away from home at times this season and need to pick up the three points to keep the pressure on their promotion rivals, especially with Rotherham slipping up yesterday afternoon in their 1-0 away loss at Accrington Stanley.

Today is a huge opportunity for the visitors. It’s the last away trip of 2021 for the Black Cats who seek their fourteenth win this campaign as 20 places and 27 points separate the two sides. Sunderland won 4-1 when the two sides last met back in February.

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• Monday’s game will mark the 10th meeting between Doncaster Rovers and Sunderland. The hosts have won just one of their previous meetings while the visitors have won six times. There have been two draws between the two sides.
• Doncaster Rovers have lost just two of their last nine home league matches (W4 D3) since a six-game losing run between April and August.
• Sunderland manager Lee Johnson is looking to win away at Doncaster in the league for the first time since August 2014, when he was Oldham manager. He has lost once since then, a 2-1 defeat with Barnsley in October 2015.

TEAM NEWS

The most notable absentee is on-loan Everton striker Nathan Broadhead who suffered a hamstring injury last time out in the Carabao Cup quarter-final having got his side back into the game with a sublime chip.

Broadhead has scored seven goals this term, with five of those coming in League One, with the 23-year-old netting four in his last three games, making him a big miss for the visitors on Monday afternoon.

Luke O’Nien is set to sit out his eighth consecutive game after picking up an injury in November’s clash with Shrewsbury Town, while Aiden McGeady is not expected to feature until January after sustaining a knee problem. Leon Dajaku hobbled off the pitch after just 41 minutes in versus Ipswich Town two Saturdays ago and but the German forward is expected to make the match-day squad.

Both Dennis Cirkin and Corry Evans have been sidelined through hernia and calf problems respectively and are yet to return to full fitness, meaning they’re unlikely to return to the starting eleven this afternoon.

Doncaster Rovers have been fielding a very young team in recent weeks given their long injury list, but the players have shown plenty of fighting spirit under caretaker boss Gary McSheffrey and will need that in abundance on Monday when they face the promotion favourites.

Fejiri Okenabirhie, Ben Close, John Bostock and Anthony Greaves are all unavailable for selection due to injuries and will miss the game against Sunderland.

POTENTIAL LINE-UPs

SAFC:                                                                                                                                       Doncaster:

Pre-match thoughts? Can Sunderland move into the automatic promotion places? Will Johnson’s side extend their unbeaten run?

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