No match til liverpool on the 3rd march

time to stop their title charge haha

Djibril Cisse says fate will have played its part if he runs out for Sunderland at Liverpool tomorrow.

The on-loan striker, 27, is on 299 career appearances - so a game at Anfield against his former club would be a landmark occasion.

Cisse scored 24 goals in 78 appearances for Liverpool and had a hand in helping them win the Champions League in 2005, coming off the bench in the final against AC Milan in Istanbul to score in the penalty shoot-out.

He said: "It will be a special day for me - my 300th career game at Liverpool. Maybe it's a sign - it's funny how football works out. If I hadn't been injured, my 300th appearance probably would have come at Arsenal. I hope it is a good sign."

Cisse missed the trip to the Emirates Stadium nine days ago because of an ankle injury but he is back in training and should feature in tomorrow's game.

"I expect to get a good reception," he said. "I went to Anfield with Marseilles and got a good reception. I have never had a problem with the club or the fans, they are good fans.

"If I get the chance to play and score tomorrow it would be great moment, it's what I play football for."

Gérard Houllier signed Cisse for Liverpool from Auxerre but the striker struggled to see eye to eye with his successor Rafael Benitez, claiming the Spanish boss forced him to leave Merseyside.

Cisse signed for Marseilles on loan for a year in 2006 before joining the French club on a permanent basis.

"I enjoyed my time at Liverpool, of course," he said. "We won a few trophies but it was a sad ending. That's life, things happen in football and you have to be strong to bounce back, prove the manager wrong."

Cisse reckons Sunderland should not be intimidated by the trip to Anfield.

"We have a chance to win," he said. "It's eleven versus eleven; their players have two legs and two arms like our players. We'll do our best and see what happens - we are looking forward to it."



Ricky Sbragia has set his Sunderland side a 12-point target from the final dozen games of this season.

The Black Cats, unbeaten in four league games, head into tomorrow's match at Liverpool sat in 12th place in the table - five points above the relegation zone.

Sbragia is looking for his troops to push towards 40 points over the next fortnight - and avoid a nerve-racking end to the season as up to 13 teams battle to stay in the Premier League.

"If we can average one point a game I'd be happy," said Sbragia. "Liverpool is a big game but the two after are bigger - the home games against Tottenham and Wigan.

"If we could get four points from our next two games I would be delighted. We want to keep our unbeaten run going and hopefully push into the top half of the table."

Sbragia added: "Forty points will probably be enough to see us safe, anything after that is a bonus. If we can get 12 points from now until the end of the season I will be happy."

Sbragia watched Liverpool lose 2-0 at Middlesbrough on Saturday, a result that temporarily lifted Boro out of the bottom three.

"Liverpool will pose a different kind of threat to Arsenal," said the manager. "They will mix it up more, they can be more direct."

Sunderland have not played since they drew 0-0 at Arsenal nine days ago. They used the time to go to Spain for four days last week.

"It worked out well," said Sbragia. "The squad bonded and they are a close group of players, it should stand us in good stead."

OMG its live ar 3.50 am on ESPN

will be watchin

This post has been edited by booooster: Mar 4 2009, 07:24 PM

Sunderland's four-game unbeaten run in the Premier League came to an end at Anfield.

The Black Cats conceded two second-half goals as Liverpool got back to winning ways, closing the gap on the leaders Manchester United to four points.

David Ngog and Yossi Benayoun got the goals to end the Black Cats' resistance.

But had Kenwyne Jones done better with a great chance in the fourth minute, Liverpool would have been facing more frustration.

Some fans were still finding their seats when Jones turned Martin Skrtel to go clean through in front of the Kop. The striker's shot, from 15 yards, lacked pace and Pepe Reina was relieved to be able to make an easy save.

The missed opportunity looked to affect Jones who was subdued afterwards.

Sunderland, looking for their first win at Anfield since 1983, frustrated Liverpool in the first half - just as they had done against Arsenal nine days earlier.

The Reds' best chance in the opening period came in the 30th minute. Albert Riera cut inside and shot from the edge of the area, it hit Grant Leadbitter, making his 100th league appearance for Sunderland, forcing Marton Fulop to change direction and get down to make a good save.



It looked to be going to plan for Sunderland as the second half kicked off but they were soon behind.

Riera crossed from the left and Steven Gerrard got in front of Kieran Richardson to head across the six-yard box, where Frenchman Ngog was well placed to slot it in.

It forced Sunderland, who started the game with Jones as a lone striker, to change to a 4-4-2 formation, bringing ex-Liverpool man Djibril Cisse on for his 300th career appearance.

But 13 minutes later Liverpool were 2-0 ahead. Fulop, who has been impressive for the Black Cats in recent weeks, flapped at Ngog's overhead kick across the goal, pushing the ball into Benayoun's path and he scored.

Considering the Black Cats had failed to score in eight of their previous nine Premier League meetings with the Reds, it was going to be difficult for them to come back.

Liverpool controlled the remainder of the game and Riera, Dirk Kuyt and Xabi Alonso had chances to add to the score.

Sunderland stay in 12th place in the table - but things could change tomorrow when six of the eight teams below them play. Wins for Tottenham and Hull would see them leapfrog the Black Cats.

Spurs visit the Stadium of Light on Saturday in what is a key game for both clubs.

Sunderland vs Tottenham Star Sports 10.55PM

1-0 woooooooooo

This post has been edited by booooster: Mar 8 2009, 11:09 PM

yes it finished 1-1 whoever updated thx but freaked me out

This post has been edited by booooster: Mar 11 2009, 08:18 PM

Rade Prica has completed a move to Norwegian club Rosenborg for an undisclosed fee.

The 28-year-old Swede has signed in time for the start of the Norwegian Premier League season, which starts on Saturday.

Ricky Sbragia said: "Things didn't quite work out for Rade here but he remained professional and also made a contribution with a crucial goal at home to Birmingham. We wish him all the best with Rosenborg."

Prica re-joins his countryman Erik Hamren, the Rosenborg manager who was in charge of Aalborg when the frontman was there.

Prica scored one goal in six appearances for Sunderland.

Your indispensable guide to Sunderland's game against Wigan.

General news:
• Sunderland are currently 13th in the Barclays Premier League - five clear of the relegation zone with 10 games to go, and three away from eighth-placed Man City.
• The Black Cats have won 17 points from their 13 games under Ricky Sbragia, which has seen them climb five places from 18th in the table.
• Sunderland have won five games at home (Boro, Newcastle, West Brom, Fulham and Stoke), drawn three (Arsenal, Blackburn and Tottenham) and lost six (Liverpool, Man City, Portsmouth, West Ham, Bolton and Aston Villa), scoring 15 goals and conceding 15.
• League form guide: W D W D L D
• Defender Danny Collins made his 150th Sunderland appearance (in all competitions) last weekend, while right-back Phil Bardsley made his 100th career appearance (all competitions) and Daryl Murphy played his 100th league game for Sunderland.
• Dean Whitehead's next game will be his 300th career league appearance.
• Kieran Richardson is suspended for the next two games after getting his 10th yellow card of the season last weekend - the midfielder will miss Saturday's game and next weekend's trip to Manchester City.

Injury latest:
• Teemu Tainio remains a doubt for the weekend after missing the draw with Tottenham through a knee injury.
• Nyron Nosworthy continues treatment for a hamstring injury and is in light training, but isn't expected back for another week or so.
• Jean-Yves M'voto suffered a slight shoulder injury during his rehabilitation from an ankle operation but should be back in full training in about a week, while David Connolly (groin), Russell Anderson (knee) and David Dowson (knee) are in long-term rehab.

The opposition:
• Lee Cattermole is suspended on Saturday after the midfielder was sent off in Wigan's 1-0 defeat at home to West Ham last Wednesday night. Cattermole was given a four-match ban for the straight red card as he was also on nine previous yellows, which didn't include the two he was given against Sunderland at the JJB last September which resulted in his sending off.
• Meanwhile, Dutch midfielder Daniel De Ridder is still a doubt after missing the last four games with a thigh injury.
• Wigan are second-bottom in the form guide after failing to win in eight games. Their last win was at home to Tottenham (1-0) on January 11 - after that, they lost two straight games, followed by four consecutive draws and two defeats on the bounce (at Chelsea and at home to West Ham).
• The Latics still sit fairly comfortably at ninth in the table, but are just three points above Sunderland on 35.
• Away from home, Wigan have won three games (Hull, Portsmouth and Bolton), drawn four (Tottenham, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough) and lost seven, scoring 14 goals and conceding 15.
• Their last away win was at Bolton on December 28 - they have lost three and drawn two on their travels since then, scoring in just one of them.
• League form guide: D D D D L L
• Wigan boss Steve Bruce had to make some key changes during the January transfer window after after three key players were sold - Wilson Palacios to Tottenham (£12m), Emile Heskey to Aston Villa (£3.5m) and Ryan Taylor to Newcastle.
• He signed Ben Watson from Crystal Palace (£2m), Charles N'Zogbia from Newcastle (£6m) and brought in Mido on loan from Middlesbrough, while also allowing Marlon King join Boro on loan and Henri Camara join Stoke on loan until the end of the season.
• Bruce made five new signings last summer and allowed eight players to leave the club.
• Ins: Amr Zaki (Zamalek, loan), Olivier Kapo (Birmingham, £3.5m), Daniel de Ridder (Birmingham, free), Lee Cattermole (Middlesbrough, £3.5m), R Bouaouzan (NEC Nijmegen).
• Outs: Andreas Granqvist (Groningen, £600,000), Julius Aghahowa (Kayserispor, undisclosed), Salomon Olembe (Kayserispor, free), Josip Skoko (Hajduk Split, free), David Cotterill (Sheffield United, undisclosed), Marlon King (Hull City, loan), Carlo Nash (Everton, undisclosed), Antoine Sibierski (Norwich, loan).
• Wigan finished 14th in the Premier League last season, just one point above Sunderland. Away from home, they won two games, drew five and lost 12, scoring 13 goals and conceding 34.

Match officials:
• The referee on Saturday is Mike Dean from Wirral, who took charge of Sunderland's 2-1 defeat at home to Aston Villa in January, their 1-0 defeat at home to West Ham last November and the 2-1 win at Tottenham earlier in the season. Mr Dean has issued 120 yellow cards and 10 reds in 33 games so far this season.
• Mr Dean's assistants are Nigel Bannister and Andy Garratt. The fourth official is Trevor Kettle.

Fancy a flutter?
• Sunderland are 6/5 favourites on Saturday, while Boylesports have priced Wigan 12/5 and the draw at 11/5.
• First scorer (S'land): Cisse 5/1, Jones 11/2, Healy 13/2, Murphy 7/1, Malbranque 14/1, Leadbitter 16/1, Reid 16/1, Edwards 20/1.
• First scorer (Wigan): Zaki 7/1, Mido 7/1, Rodallega 15/2, Kapo 9/1, Sibierski 10/1, N'Zogbia 14/1, Valencia 16/1, Koumas 16/1.
• For more odds go to www.boylesportssafc.com

How far?
• It's 153 miles from the JJB Stadium to the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland-Wigan, head-to-head:
• Sunderland and Wigan drew 1-1 at the JJB Stadium last September - Titus Bramble scored a first-half own goal for the visitors, but Amr Zaki scored a 78th-minute equaliser.
• Sunderland won this fixture at the Stadium of Light last season, 2-0 with goals by Dickson Etuhu and Daryl Murphy.
• The Latics won 3-0 in the third round of the FA Cup here last January, Paul Scharner, Paul McShane (OG) and David Cotterill the scorers.
• Wigan's last win at Sunderland was three years ago almost to the day - they won 1-0 here in March 2006, thanks to a Henri Camara goal.
• It's Wigan's only league win at Sunderland in five previous attempts. Since the two sides first met in the old third division at Roker Park in October 1987, with Sunderland winning 4-1, there has been two other draws and a second Sunderland victory.
SAFC wins Draws Wigan wins
League 3 5 3
FA Cup 0 0 1
Total 3 5 4


The Last 10 Meetings:
• Wigan 1, Sunderland 1 (Premier League) 13.9.08
• Sunderland 2, Wigan 0 (Premier League) 9.2.08
• Sunderland 0, Wigan 3 (FA Cup R3) 5.1.08
• Wigan 3, Sunderland 0 (Premier League) 18.8.07
• Sunderland 0, Wigan 1 (Premier League) 11.3.06
• Wigan 1, Sunderland 0 (Premier League) 27.8.05
• Wigan 0, Sunderland 1 (Championship) 5.4.05
• Sunderland 1, Wigan 1 (Championship) 28.8.04
• Wigan 0, Sunderland 0 (Championship) 24.4.04
• Sunderland 1, Wigan 1 (Championship) 2.12.03

Sunderland striker Djibril Cisse has set his sights on hitting the 15-goal mark by the end of the season.

Cisse, on a season-long loan from Marseille, notched his 10th goal of the season against Newcastle at St. James' Park last month.

And the Frenchman is aiming to add to the total against Wigan tomorrow. "I thought 15 at the beginning of the season, I'm on 10 so it's still do-able," he said.

"I need to get back on the goal sheet. I should have a goal against Wigan tomorrow, I feel confident."

Cisse's partnership with Kenwyne Jones has produced 19 goals for the Black Cats this season - but the ex-Liverpool man reckons there is plenty of room for improvement.

"We can do better but the beauty of it is, we score goals," said the striker. "I think defenders are scared of us, we have a lot of qualities but we must do better. Me and Kenwyne have to finish the chances."

The Black Cats go into the game against Wigan at the Stadium of Light hovering just four points above the relegation zone, but according to Cisse they are not looking down.

"It's not good to think of points totals, we just need to win the games, we have no worries," he said.

"We are a match for most sides. The last-minute goal spoiled it against Tottenham and now we have to beat Wigan."

Starting line ups

Sunderland
Fulop 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Ben Haim 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Bardsley 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Collins 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
McCartney 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Leadbitter 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Reid 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Whitehead 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Malbranque 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Jones 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Cisse 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Wigan
Kirkland 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
N'Zogbia 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Boyce 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Bramble 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Figueroa 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Melchiot 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Scharner 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Brown 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Valencia 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Watson 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Mido 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Damn it we lost 2-1

Ricky Sbragia has told his players to be "strong mentally" as the Barclays Premier League season enters its final stage.

The Black Cats underperformed against Wigan last Saturday as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat at the Stadium of Light.

The result left the club's fans in an apprehensive mood and Sbragia, the manager, insists it is up to his players to lift morale.

Sunderland go to Manchester City on Sunday in need of a positive result before heading into a two-week international break.

"It was the worst we've played and to have that poor performance against Wigan was bad timing," said Sbragia.

"In my 14 [league] games in charge, we've had one really poor performance. The disappointing thing is, we thought the game was there for the taking but we just didn't perform. We can't make excuses about the pitch or anything else - it's down to us [the coaches] and the players."

Sunderland have nine games left as they look to win enough points to stay in the Premier League.

"It's that nervy time of the season," said Sbragia. "I regularly speak to other managers and most agree that the games now are very edgy and it's how you handle it - you have to accept the challenge.

"We have nine games left and every one is vital, we've got to be mentally strong."

forget bout Epl, i wonderin how sunderland managed to be on top of the reserved team north league? any key player? shining starlet? 6 points ahead, that is something!!

BTW, gotta say nice goal by Nzogbia, shd be careful wif this speedy winger next time...

lol craig gordon is playin in goal for us there

Your indispensable guide to Sunderland's game against Manchester City.

General news:
• Sunderland slipped to 14th in the Barclays Premier League with their 2-1 defeat at home to Wigan on Saturday.
• Away from home, Sunderland have won three (Tottenham, Blackburn and Hull), drawn five (Wigan, Fulham, Boro, Newcastle and Arsenal) and lost six (Villa, Stoke, Chelsea, Man United, Everton and Liverpool), scoring 12 goals and conceding 20.
• The Black Cats haven't won on their travels in their last six games, since their 4-1 win at Hull on December 20.
• League form guide: D W D L D L
• Dean Whitehead made his 300th career league appearance last weekend.
• George McCartney's next game will be his 150th league appearance for Sunderland.
• Kieran Richardson completes a two-match suspension on Sunday and will be available again for the trip to West Ham in a fortnight.
• Defender Tal Ben-Haim is not available at Eastlands as part of his loan deal.

International round-up:
• Kenwyne Jones and Carlos Edwards have been called up by Trinidad and Tobago for World Cup qualifiers against Honduras (March 28) and USA (April 1). The T&T Football Federation have appealed against Dwight Yorke's four-match suspension from qualifiers imposed by FIFA following an incident in T&T's last game against El Salvador last month.
• David Healy has been called up for Northern Ireland's World Cup qualifiers against Poland (March 28) and Slovenia three days later, at Windsor Park in Belfast.
• George McCartney is suspended for the Poland game but will join the squad for the Slovenia game on April 1.
• Marton Fulop has been named in the Hungary squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Malta on March 28 and April 1.
• Craig Gordon has been named in the Scotland squad for their coming World Cup games against Holland and Iceland.
• Teemu Tainio is in the Finland squad for their World Cup qualifier against Wales in Cardiff on March 28, followed by a home friendly against Norway on April 1.
• Paul McShane has been called up by the Republic of Ireland for qualifiers against Bulgaria and in Italy.
• Tal Ben-Haim is in Israel's squad for their qualifying double-header against Greece - at home on March 28 and away on April 1.
• David Meyler is in the Republic of Ireland U-21 squad for a European Championship qualifier against Turkey on March 31.
• Trevor Carson and Robbie Weir are in the Northern Ireland U-21 squad for their game at home to the Ukraine on March 31.

Injury latest:
• Anton Ferdinand is hoping to be fit at the weekend after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury.
• Young left-winger Nathan Luscombe is undergoing an investigation into a serious knee injury suffered in Sunderland's reserves last week.
• David Connolly (groin), Russell Anderson (knee) and David Dowson (knee) are in long-term rehab.

The opposition:
• Craig Bellamy is hoping to be fit for Sunday after the striker missed City's 1-0 defeat at Chelsea with a knee injury last Sunday.
• Zimbabwe striker Benjani could make a return after missing the last 11 league games with a thigh injury, while young midfielder Michael Johnson is hoping to make a comeback soon after missing most of the season with a groin injury (his last league game was in City's 3-0 win at the Stadium of Light in August).
• Bulgarian striker Martin Petrov (knee), German midfielder Dietmar Hamann (foot), Dutch defender Nigel De Jong and striker Daniel Sturridge (groin) all remain doubtful for the weekend.
• Man City have had an indifferent campaign up to now, with their recent league form pretty much mirroring their season generally.
• They have won two, drawn one and lost three in their last six games, but they boast the fifth-best home record in the league, winning nine and losing five of their 14 games at Eastlands.
• They have scored 30 goals at home (the second-highest scorers at home, behind Man United) and have conceded just 12.
• City have won their last five consecutive home games (Hull, Wigan, Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Aston Villa), scoring 11 goals and conceding just two in the process.
• Their last home defeat was against Everton on December 13 - Man United, Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea are the others to win at Eastlands this season.
• City are the joint-fourth highest scorers in the Premier League, with 45 goals up to now.
• League form guide: W L D L W L
• Boss Mark Hughes signed four new players during the January transfer window, bringing in Bellamy from West Ham, De Jong from Hamburg, Wayne Bridge from Chelsea and Shay Given from Newcastle.
• Hughes made seven new signings last summer, and allowed 11 to leave.
• Ins: Jo (CSKA Moscow, £18m), Tal Ben Haim (Chelsea, undisclosed), Vincent Kompany (Hamburg, £6m), Shaun Wright-Phillips (£9m), Pablo Zabaleta (Espanyol, undisclosed), Robinho (Real Madrid, £32.5m), Glauber Berti (Nuremberg, free).
• Outs: Georgios Samaras (Celtic, undisclosed), Andreas Isaksson (PSV Eindhoven, undisclosed), Geovanni (Hull, free), Emile Mpenza and Paul Dickov (both released), Sun Jihai (Sheffield United, free), Matthew Mills (Doncaster, £300,000), Bernardo Corradi (Reggina, free), Ashley Grimes (Millwall, free), Rolando Bianchi (Torino, undisclosed), Vedran Corluka (Tottenham, £8.5m).
• City finished ninth in the Premier League last season, with 55 points. At home, they won 11 games, drew four and lost four, scoring 28 goals and conceding 20.

Match officials:
• The referee on Sunday is Steve Tanner from Somerset, who took charge of Sunderland's 2-1 win at Blackburn last November. Mr Tanner has issued 79 yellow cards and six reds in 25 games so far this season.
• Mr Tanner's assistants are Mick Murphy and Mo Matadar. The fourth official is Chris Foy.

Fancy a flutter?
• City are 8/13 favourites on Sunday, while Boylesports have priced Sunderland 9/2 and the draw at 11/4.
• First scorer (S'land): Cisse 8/1, Jones 8/1, Healy 9/1, Leadbitter 16/1, Reid 16/1, Malbranque 18/1, Edwards 20/1.
• First scorer (City): Bellamy 9/2, Robinho 9/2, Caicedo 11/2, Evans 6/1, Bojinov 13/2, Ireland 15/2, Elano 15/2, Wright-Phillips 8/1.
• For more odds go to www.boylesportssafc.com

How far?
• It's 138 miles from the Stadium of Light to Eastlands.

Sunderland-Man City, head-to-head:
• Man City won 3-0 at the Stadium of Light earlier this season thanks to goals by Shaun Wright-Phillips (2) and Stephen Ireland.
• City beat Sunderland 1-0 at Eastlands last season, when Ireland scored the only goal.
• Sunderland's last win at City was in a Championship match at Maine Road on January 17, 1998, Kevin Phillips scoring in a 1-0 victory.
• City have won 36 of the previous 57 league meetings between the two sides in Manchester, with Sunderland winning 12, and there have been nine draws.
SAFC wins Draws City wins
League 43 19 53
FA Cup 2 2 4
League Cup 1 1 0
Other 0 0 1
Total 46 22 58


The last 10 meetings:
• Sunderland 0, Man City 3 (Premier League) 31.8.08
• Sunderland 1, Man City 2 (Premier League) 12.4.08
• Man City 1, Sunderland 0 (Premier League) 5.11.07
• Man City 2, Sunderland 1 (Premier League) 5.3.06
• Sunderland 1, Man City 2 (Premier League) 23.8.05
• Man City 3, Sunderland 0 (Premier League) 21.4.03
• Sunderland 0, Man City 3 (Premier League) 9.12.02
• Sunderland 1, Man City 0 (Premier League) 23.12.00
• Man City 4, Sunderland 2 (Premier League) 23.8.00
• Man City 0, Sunderland 1 (Championship) 17.1.98

Other News

Djibril Cisse is backing Sunderland to win their battle to stay in the Barclays Premier League.

The Black Cats have slipped down the table in recent weeks after gaining just two points from their last two homes games.

They head to Manchester City tomorrow (3pm) in need of a positive result before the Premier League breaks for two weeks.

And Cisse is aware that the comfort zone Sunderland were in after gaining a point at Arsenal last month has gone.

"There are a lot of points to play for so we can turn the situation. I think we can still finish in the top 10," said the Frenchman.

"But yes, it's annoying to not score goals, it's annoying to not win games, to be 1-0 up and in the last minute, concede a goal. It is annoying but there are a lot of games and a lot of time.



"It's a matter of one game. We need a victory and then I think we would be back to the right way and start winning games again. But we need that game and we need it quickly."

Eastlands may not be the best place to try to end a run of four games without a victory - as City have won seven of their last eight games there in all competitions.

Added to that, Sunderland have not won away from home in five league games, since they beat Hull 4-1 in December.

Cisse said: "I don't think it's going to be easy because City are really good at home.

"But maybe there'll be less pressure because we are away and we don't have all the stadium behind us. Still, the pressure is going to be there."

Cisse, who has scored 10 goals this season, knows he is overdue a goal and he is hoping it comes against City.

He said: "Every season you have your periods where you don't score. But you just need to be strong and believe in yourself."

Man City
Given 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Dunne 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Onuoha 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Richards 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Kompany 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Zabaleta 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Wright-Phillips 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Elano 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
De Jong 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Bojinov 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Robinho 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Sunderland
Fulop 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Bardsley 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Collins 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Ferdinand 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
McCartney 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Edwards 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Leadbitter 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Whitehead 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Malbranque 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Jones 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Murphy 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

that was hardly a foul by Bardsley. Didnt deserved tat. Nice save by Fulop. Seems like Sunderland got blessed by havin cople of talented GK. I like the way u conquered middle field in evry game, tru some beautiful onetwo pass and passtru.

What is this bro? I don't understand.

that was the starting lineups

---

Added on March 23, 2009, 2:20 pmyea we were damn unlucky oh well

just hope that we can stay up

This post has been edited by booooster: Mar 23 2009, 02:20 PM

Whitehead eager to get back in action
/ News / News Archive / Whitehead eager to get back in action /
dean whitehead
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By Nick Alexander

Dean Whitehead reckons the international break has come at a bad time for Sunderland.

The Black Cats sit just three points above the relegation zone after a run that has seen them pick up two points from their last five games.

The club's latest defeat came at Manchester City on Sunday, albeit in unfortunate circumstances as George McCartney was sent off early in the game.

Ricky Sbragia's men have two weeks to wait before getting the chance to bounce back, with the Barclays Premier League breaking for international football.

"I would rather have a game on Saturday, I don't like the [international] breaks," said Whitehead.

"A lot of teams at the bottom are saying they will be all right but we're all in a fight. We need to go out and get a positive result at West Ham and I wish the game was on Saturday."

After a poor display against Wigan in their last home game, Sunderland were much better against City. The Black Cats lost 1-0 after being reduced to 10 men in the 15th minute.

"We had to respond from the Wigan performance because we let everyone down in that game," said the skipper.

"The City game was very frustrating - we don't seem to be getting the rub of the green at the minute but we have to make our own luck. Maybe we deserved a point at City."

Sunderland's next game, at Upton Park on April 4, is followed by a home game against Manchester United.

"We've not picked up the points we would have liked from recent games and it means there'll be extra pressure on us at West Ham," Whitehead said. "And the fact we have Man United after does not help.

"There'll be lots of twists and turns at the bottom between now and the end. If we could get a positive result at West Ham, it would make a massive difference."