Burton v Sunderland preview
Friday 24 November 2017 13:19, UK
Lloyd Dyer will be assessed before Burton boss Nigel Clough finalises his plans for the visit of Sunderland.
The winger suffered a hamstring injury during the defeat at Sheffield United and missed the midweek draw at Brentford. John Brayford is making progress in his recovery from a hamstring problem but Saturday's game against the Black Cats could come too soon for the right-back.
On-loan striker Joe Mason is also nearing a return after a back injury and it is hoped he will be involved again soon as Burton look for a first home win in just over two months.
Sunderland boss Chris Coleman expects forward Duncan Watmore to miss the rest of the season after he underwent knee surgery. The injury suffered in last week's home draw with Millwall is the latest setback for the 22-year-old, who missed the last six months of the 2016-17 season and the start of the current campaign.
Didier Ndong is also unavailable due to a knee problem and Marc Wilson is out due to a calf injury, but Lee Cattermole is back in contention after serving a one-match ban. Paddy McNair was rested for the trip to Aston Villa in midweek and should return to the side against Burton.
Opta stats
This is the first ever meeting between the teams in any competition.
Burton Albion are the first team Sunderland have faced for the first time in a league match since they faced Colchester United in November 2006, winning 3-1 in a Championship fixture.
The Brewers have won just one of their last 10 Championship matches (D3 L6), failing to score in five of those fixtures.
This is Sunderland's lowest points tally (11) from the opening 18 matches of a league season since 2005/06 (6 points), a season that ended in relegation from the Premier League for the Black Cats.
Lewis Grabban has netted 43.5% of Sunderland's 23 Championship goals so far this season (10 goals).
Sunderland are the only side in the Championship yet to record a clean sheet this season - this is only the second time in their history that the Black Cats have failed to keep a clean sheet in their first 18 league games of the season alongside 1953-54.
Prutton's prediction
What a massive game this is. For both teams. This is where Chris Coleman's tenure really starts at Sunderland because they were never realistically going to get anything from Villa Park in midweek, and a win could really help kick-start things there for him.
It's a big game for Burton as well. A home game against a side below them in the league presents a real opportunity to claim a victory, and they'll be right up for this. It will be tight, but I have to back Nigel Clough's men to edge it.
Prutton predicts: 1-0 (7/1 with Sky Bet)
