Fulham vs Sunderland 15.00GMT 16.00 CET Premier League

Fulham will be hoping to iron out their inconsistencies when they entertain fellow strugglers Sunderland.

Two wins in their last three have helped to lift the Cottagers out of the drop zone, but only two points separate them from the trapdoor.

Finding a way of stringing positive results together is the challenge facing boss Rene Meulensteen, with Fulham having been all or nothing for much of the campaign.

They have been held on just one occasion, with six victories collected and a joint division-high 13 defeats suffered in their 20 games so far.

Sunderland have lost one game fewer than their weekend hosts, but it is they who continue to prop up the Premier League table.

A return of just 14 points has them languishing four from safety and with time starting to run out in their bid to piece together a survival surge.

Gus Poyet needs to find a way of replicating cup heroics in the league, with the Black Cats having once again shown what they are capable of in knockout competition with a 2-1 victory over Manchester United in the first leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final on Tuesday.


Fulham are likely to shuffle their pack once again after offering game time to youngsters and fringe players in their 1-1 FA Cup third round draw at Norwich.

Clint Dempsey made his second debut for the club in that contest, after joining on a short-term loan, while Darren Bent was back among the goals and both men will be hoping to have done enough to retain their starting berths.

The likes of Scott Parker, Damien Duff and Dimitar Berbatov will be among those pushing for recalls, while there is a chance that goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg (ankle) and defender Matthew Briggs (hernia) could come back into contention. Brede Hangeland is, however, still nursing a back complaint.


Sunderland Steven Fletcher is set to keep his place in Sunderland's starting line-up after shrugging off a slight knock sustained in the midweek cup win over Manchester United.

Black Cats boss Poyet does not expect any fresh injury concerns and could keep faith in the side that secured their 2-1 first-leg win, although Adam Johnson is pushing for a recall after being singled out by Poyet for special praise.

Poyet is without midfielder Cabral who has moved to Genoa on loan until the end of the season, while goalkeeper Keiren Westwood remains sidelined with a shoulder injury.



I think that Sunderland could get a point out of this, I would like to see them get 3 but you never know.