Match Preview: Sunderland AFC vs Leicester City 3/12/16

I feel that there's really only one place to start and that is with the Champions of England (who'd have thought?) Leicester City's visit to the Stadium of Light this weekend. Back to back wins over Bournemouth and Hull City has seen Sunderland gain a much needed shot in the arm in terms of confidence over the past three weeks, not to mention the added importance of amassing six priceless points to our previously embarrassing total of two. A spirited display at Anfield almost resulted in what would have been essentially a bonus point, but sadly our luck ran out 15 minutes from the end. Had Duncan Watmore stuck his chance away at 0-0 then who knows? Lets face it, not many teams will take points from Liverpool on their own patch this season as their quest for a first title since 1990 gains significant momentum.

As for this Saturday, make no mistakes about it, this is a big game. It always was going to be that way, given the nature of Leicester's remarkable achievements last season, and I must admit this was a fixture that I looked for when the fixtures were released in June. (No Wear-Tyne derby dates to memorise this time round tee-hee-hee). Despite their fairy tale story continuing in the Champions League, The Foxes have found it increasingly tough domestically, winning only three times in the league so far. They have already lost six of their opening thirteen games, which is a far cry from losing just three fixtures throughout the whole of last season. Its is hard to put your finger on exactly what the reasoning behind this is. They've lost arguably their most influential player in N'golo Kante and plenty star names from a remarkable title triumph have failed to reach the same standards they set last season. Most of them have signed bumper new contracts, including Jamie Vardy and Danny Drinkwater. Riyad Mahrez has in patches, shown us the class and creativity that won him the PFA Player of the Year just a matter of months ago. He has sparkled in The Champions League but has been a little inconsistent domestically. Are these guys resting on their laurels and taken their feet off the gas? Has the rest of the league figured out how to play against them? Are they now getting the respect they deserve? They're flying in Europe but have struggled domestically. Maybe this season's slow start puts into perspective just how incredible winning the title last season actually was. Their league position is precarious to say the least but it is still relatively early and I think Leicester have far too much quality to be dragged further down into a relegation fight. Although it's worth remembering that no team is too good to go down.

As for Sunderland, it is a home game and an opportunity to take the bull by the horns and really go out and get our season up and running. This is a winnable game, and we will need to start well. If Sunderland take the game by the scruff of the neck and get at City's back four the home side should be able to get a result on Saturday. Jan Kirchhoff isn't far from a return, Seb Larsson is back, as is Papy Djilobodji (make of that what you will) and we have a young goalkeeper who is quite frankly, playing out of his skin at the moment. Victor Anichebe has stayed fit, easing the burden on Jermain Defoe, massively complimenting him on the pitch to boot. Winning key battles in the middle of the park will be an overriding factor in the outcome of this game, and keeping Mahrez quiet will be high on Sunderland's agenda. It is far from a six pointer much like the feel of the Hull game but a hugely important fixture for both sides nonetheless. If we win, the gap to Leicester is cut to just two points, and with games away at Swansea and home to Watford coming up this month, these next few weeks present Sunderland with a fantastic opportunity to finally get their season up and running, amass some points and climb up the league and away from the danger zone. We have to be up and at it right from the word go, and I think we will be, so I'm going to stick my neck out and say a narrow, hard-earned home win. Here's hoping anyway!

Verdict: 2-1

Keep The Faith.