Overview
Sunderland is experiencing their first impressive season since returning to the Premier League after being relegated in the 2016-2017 season. The "Black Cats" are currently hoping to win a European cup spot in the final stage of the season.
Regis Le Bris's team has won 12 matches, drawn 10 matches and lost 11 matches after 33 rounds, thereby ranking 11th in the standings with 46 points.
Sunderland is closely following Brighton as the gap between the two teams is only 4 points, while the "Black Cats" have played one less match. This means they can narrow the gap to only 1 point if they win.
However, the race for European tickets is extremely tense. The gap between 6th and 14th positions is only 8 points, forcing Sunderland to maintain stable form and aim for victories in the sprint stage.
After a regrettable 3-4 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend - a match they conceded in the 90+3 minute by Tammy Abraham - Sunderland has more motivation to return strongly.
Home advantage is a significant foothold for this team. At Stadium of Light, Sunderland has won 8, drawn 5 and only lost 3 matches this season, although their recent form has somewhat stagnated with only 1 win in the last 4 matches.
In the opposite direction, Nottingham Forest entered the match with impressive form. "Tricky Trees" won 4 and drew 3 in the last 7 matches in all competitions.
Not only reaching the Europa League semi-finals, where they will face Aston Villa, Vitor Pereira's team has also significantly improved their chances of staying in the Premier League.
Forest has won 2 and drawn 3 in the last 5 rounds, notably the 3-0 victory over Tottenham. Thanks to that, they rose to 16th place with 36 points, creating a 5-point gap with the relegation group when the season is only 5 rounds away.
However, Forest's upcoming schedule is considered very harsh when they successively meet Sunderland, Chelsea, Newcastle, Manchester United and Bournemouth. Therefore, Pereira certainly wants his players to maintain stable form, starting with winning points against Sunderland.
Despite losing the last two times to the "Black Cats", Nottingham Forest still has a basis for confidence as they once beat Sunderland 1-0 at Stadium of Light in 2017, thanks to a goal by Daryl Murphy.
Personnel situation
Sunderland will not have the services of Omar Alderete, Simon Moore and Romaine Mundle in this match. Besides, Jocelin Ta Bi, Bertrand Traore and Nilson Angulo are also not in good physical condition due to injuries.
In defense, Trai Hume is likely to be given a starting spot. This full-back can play alongside Dan Ballard, Luke O'Nien and Nordi Mukiele in the home team's defense system.
In attack, Brian Brobbey is currently Sunderland's best scorer in the Premier League with 6 goals. This striker is expected to continue to lead the attack at Stadium of Light.
On the other side, Nottingham Forest also faces many difficulties in terms of force when Murillo, Dan Ndoye, Willy Boly, Nicolo Savona, John Victor and Callum Hudson-Odoi are all injured.
However, Pereira is likely to still maintain the formation that won 4-1 against Burnley. Among them, Morgan Gibbs-White continues to be the biggest hope in attack.
A notable adjustment may be the return of Igor Jesus to the starting lineup, after this striker scored the decisive goal in the final minutes of the recent victory.
Expected lineup:
Roefs, Mukiele, O'Nien, Ballard, Hume, Xhaka, Sadiki, Rigg, Diarra, Le Fee, Brobbey.
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Aina, Milenkovic, Jair, Williams, Sangare, Anderson, Bakwa, Gibbs-White, Hutchinson, Jesus.
The match between Sunderland and Nottingham Forest takes place at 2:00 AM on April 25 (Vietnam time).
