Southampton v Sunderland score prediction issued by Sky Sports pundit
Sky Sports pundit David Prutton has issued his score prediction ahead of Saturday’s Championship clash.
With another round of midweek Championship fixtures having passed by, the second tier really is ramping towards the business end of the campaign.
There are now just ten or eleven league matches remaining for most sides in the division as Southampton prepare to host Sunderland at the weekend.
With both sides desperately in need of points to keep their goals for the season in sight, it promises to be an intriguing matchup at St Mary’s come Saturday afternoon.
Southampton form
After their midweek fixture against Preston North End was postponed in midweek, the Saints have had a full week of rest ahead of this weekend’s clash with the Black Cats.
Russell Martin’s side are in mixed form of late, however, with plenty of ups and downs in recent weeks.
For example, in their last five matches, Southampton have picked up two wins, but also suffered three defeats.
That form has hurt their promotion chances, with the club now sitting eight points behind Ipswich Town and fourth in the league standings.
There is no doubt plenty of twists and turns to come in the final weeks of the season, though, so three points at home on Saturday could be vital.
If Southampton’s form of late has been mixed, Sunderland’s recent record in the division has been abysmal.
The club have now lost five consecutive matches in the Championship, seriously denting their chances of reaching the play-offs this term.
Frustratingly for Sunderland, they are now sitting 11th in the Championship, but more importantly, 10 points adrift of Hull City in sixth.
Whilst that is not an impossible gap to make up with 10 matches left to play, it does leave the Black Cats with somewhat of a mountain to climb, and they surely have to get back to winning ways this weekend if they are to have a chance.
David Prutton’s Southampton v Sunderland score prediction
With both sides really needing the points, Sky Sports EFL pundit David Prutton is backing the home side for a victory in this one.
Indeed, Prutton predicts that the Saints will come out 3-1 victors at St Mary’s, writing in his Sky Sports column: “Southampton didn’t have a game in midweek and that has left them adrift of the top three right now.”
“They cannot really afford a single slip-up between now and the end of the season, because the pace among the leading pack is just ridiculous.
