Sunderland vs Luton - Championship play-offs: TV channel, team news, lineups & prediction
Sunderland take on Luton Town on Saturday afternoon in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final.
The Black Cats secured their place in the end of season lottery with a 3-0 win over Preston North End at Deepdale, leapfrogging Millwall into the top six after their collapse against Blackburn Rovers.
Tony Mowbray's side come up against a Luton side who reached the play-offs last year and came third this time around - their two Championship meetings earlier this season ended in 1-1 draws.
Here's everything you need to know about the game.
Where are Sunderland vs Luton playing?
- Location: Sunderland, England
- Stadium: Stadium of Light
- Date: Saturday 13 May
- Kick-off Time: 17:30 BST / 12:30 ET / 09:30 PT
- Referee: Tim Robinson
Sunderland vs Luton H2H Record (Last Five Games)
- Sunderland wins: 0
- Draws: 4
- Luton wins: 1
Current Form (Last Five Games)
- Sunderland: WDWDW
- Luton: WDWDD
How to watch Sunderland vs Luton on TV and live stream
Country | TV channel/Broadcaster |
|---|---|
United Kingdom | Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football |
United States | ESPN+ |
Canada | DAZN |
Sunderland team news
Tony Mowbray said in his most recent pre-match press conference that a couple of players hadn't trained, but didn't touch on who in order to keep Luton guessing.
Lynden Gooch and Dennis Cirken picked up injury niggles on the final day against Preston and are doubts while Dan Ballard won't feature.
Aji Alese, Danny Batth, Jewison Bennette, Elliot Embleton, Corry Evans, Ross Stewart, and Niall Huggins make up the rest of the club's rather extensive injury list.
Sunderland predicted lineup vs Luton
Sunderland predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Patterson; Gooch, Hume, Anderson, O'Nien; Neil, Ekwah; Roberts, Diallo, Clarke; Gelhardt
Luton team news
Luton boss Rob Edwards rested a number of players on the final day of the season knowing the club's place in the play-offs was already secure, so changes are expected.
Cauley Woodrow is likely to miss both legs against Sunderland because of a knee injury, but there's hope he could feature at Wembley if the Hatters make it that far.
Luton predicted lineup vs Sunderland
Luton predicted lineup (3-5-2): Horvath; Lockyer, Bradley, Bell; Drameh, Berry, Nakamba, Mpanzu, Doughty; Adebayo, Morris
Sunderland vs Luton score prediction
History is very much on Sunderland's side when it comes to games against Luton on their home patch - The Black Cats haven't tasted defeat in this particular fixture since 1973, which spans 18 home games at Roker Park and the Stadium of Light.
That kind of record holds some weight in a game of this importance, with Luton knowing they need to overcome that obstacle in addition to beating a talented Sunderland side featuring the likes of Amad Diallo and Patrick Roberts.
Mowbray's side will be backed by a capacity crowd and that could be the difference in a narrow first leg win.