Sunderland begin life with Michael Beale in charge with a Championship fixture at home to Coventry City on Saturday afternoon.

At a time when the Black Cats are seventh in the standings, Coventry are down in 15th position, despite their recent resurgence.

Match preview

When Beale made the decision to leave Queens Park Rangers for Rangers a little over a year ago, he would not have anticipated now being at Sunderland.

Nevertheless, after a spell at Ibrox that did not work out, Beale will feel that he has fallen on his feet at the Stadium of Light, as the club sits just below the Championship playoffs.

Victories over West Bromwich Albion and Leeds United under the temporary management played a big part in that before Sunderland went down 1-0 at Bristol City last time out.

Sunderland are now without an away win since September 29, but the pressure has eased on home territory with 12 points coming from their last five fixtures at their North East base.

Sitting just three points adrift of fifth, the foundations have been laid for Beale to take this team to the next level, but it remains an appointment that divides opinion.

Mark Robins and his Coventry City squad will relish the opportunity to upset the applecart as they bid to kick-start their own campaign.

After an uninspiring start to the season, Coventry have responded by collecting 11 points from six games, their only defeat coming at second-placed Ipswich Town.

On the back of a win over Birmingham City, successive draws have been posted against Southampton and Leeds United, the third and fourth-placed teams in the division.

Despite remaining nine points adrift of the playoffs, the Sky Blues are on an upward trajectory, and they will move to the brink of a spot in the top half of the table with victory at the weekend.

Team News

Beale's first act as Sunderland boss will likely be to recall Jobe Bellingham, who was rested and featured on the substitutes' bench last time out.

Either Pierre Ekwah or Alex Pritchard are expected to drop out of the team, but the remainder of the starting lineup could stay the same given the previous successes over two teams sitting above them.

However, Beale must decide whether to keep Jack Clarke as a number nine or switch him back to the flank.

Robins may also keep changes to his Coventry XI to a minimum on the back of their comeback draw at Leeds.

While Callum O'Hare and Haji Wright are both pushing for recalls in the final third, Robins may opt for a more defensive-minded approach after it paid off at Elland Road.

Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Patterson; Huggins, O'Nien, Ballard, Hume; Bellingham, Neil; Roberts, Pritchard, Ba; Clarke

Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Collins; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Kitching, Bidwell; Latibeaudiere; Sakamoto, Eccles, Sheaf, Dasilva; Simms

We say: Sunderland 1-1 Coventry City

While Sunderland have built some momentum at the Stadium of Light, Coventry are improving on their travels. Taking that into consideration, we would not be surprised to see a competitive low-scoring draw played out on Saturday.

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