The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the upcoming EFL Championship clash between Sunderland and Hull City.
The 2023/24 EFL Championship season will continue on Friday, as Matchday 28 kicks off with a Friday night fixture. The latest round of fixtures gets underway at the Stadium of Light, where Sunderland will host Hull City.
Sunderland and Hull City are in the thick of the battle to finish in the play-off positions at the end of the season. While the top four are running away with the battle for automatic promotion, only nine points separate the clubs between fifth and 14th in the EFL Championship standings. So, Friday’s game comes with high stakes.
Where to Watch Sunderland vs Hull City?
Sunderland vs Hull City will kick off at 8 pm GMT at the Stadium of Light on Friday night. Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event will broadcast the match in the UK, while you can stream it on Sky GO or the Sky Sports App. ESPN+ will telecast the game in the USA. Meanwhile, viewers in India can catch the fixture on the Fancode App.
Form
Sunderland: LWDWLL
Recent weeks have seen Sunderland produce inconsistent performances, with the latest result dropping them out of the top six. The Black Cats lost to Ipswich Town last weekend, their second successive defeat in all competition. But they have won only two of their most recent seven outings, meaning Michael Beale’s men need to step up.
Hull City: LWLDLL
Hull City’s recent run is even worse than Sunderland’s. Only Blackburn Rovers have been on the wrong end of a result more often than the Tigers since the start of December. On top of that, the visitors have won only one of their last six away games in the EFL Championship. So, they must arrest the slide to avoid dropping out of the play-off picture.
Head-to-Head Record
The head-to-head between Sunderland and Hull City favours the Black Cats, who have won 23 of the 49 meetings (D11 L15). In addition, only one of the last 11 meetings between these teams has ended in a victory for the Tigers, who have lost four games (D6). To make matters worse, they are without a win over Sunderland in ten league games.
Key Stats
- Sunderland can do a league double over Hull City for the first time since the 2016/17 Premier League season.
- Hull City are without a win in ten league games against Sunderland (D6 L4) since a 3-1 victory on Boxing Day in 2014.
- Sunderland are one of only two Championship sides this season, along with Leicester City, without a home draw (P13 W8 L5), winning five of their last seven league games at the Stadium of Light since a 4-0 loss to Middlesbrough in October.
- Only Blackburn Rovers (7) have lost more Championship games since the beginning of December than Hull City (6), with the Tigers winning just one of their last six on the road (D1 L4).
- Jack Clarke is fourth in the EFL Championship Golden Boot race. But only two of his 13 league goals have come at the Stadium of Light.
Prediction and Betting Tips
Recent form does not necessarily favour either team, with both blowing hot and cold since the start of December. But Hull City’s record against Sunderland in the past decade, particularly at the Stadium of Light, is dreadful. So, we expect Sunderland to win.
As we iterated in the previous section, Jack Clarke, who has attracted the attention of Premier League clubs, is among the top scorers in the EFL Championship. But he has found the back of the net only twice in league appearances at the Stadium of Light. However, he scored in the reverse fixture, and we back Jack Clarke to score or assist any time.
