Sunderland v Manchester United: Team news & predictions

The game kicks off at 1330 GMT at the Stadium of Light, live on Sky Sports HD.

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Sunderland v Manchester United: Manager quotes  

David Moyes (Sunderland)

On poor run of results: "Look, we're not kidding on, we're getting close to desperation.

"We have to win. I have been saying that for the last... I was probably saying it before Christmas time.

"In fact, I've been saying it since probably day one of the season if you want to be truthful, that we had to win.

"I don't think my message has changed from then to what it is now, that we have to try to win the games.

"We are certainly not giving up. The club has done it (in the past)."

Jose Mourinho (Manchester United)

On Jesse Lingard: I think he is a good player already.

"And because of his age and because of his happiness in the work, I think he has conditions to be even better.

"Apart from that, English, made in the academy - very important for the club these players made at home - so it is a very important contract.

"And I congratulate him and obviously the board to agree with him and to give this stability also for me because it is important for me to know that he is not in danger, that he is in a situation under our control." 

On Adnan Januzaj's future: "Yes. I have decided. (Can I say what it is?) Not to you." 

On injury news: "Wayne Rooney is not available.

"Ashley Young is injured and no more news because (Juan) Mata, (Chris) Smalling and (Phil) Jones you already know that we are speaking about long-term injuries." 

On David Moyes: "I have sympathy with every manager that is fighting hard to reach the objectives and he is in trouble to do it.

"In the whole season, it happened with so many of us. In the end, there is one team that is going to be champions, there are three teams that are going to be relegated.

"But everyone is a good professional, everyone gives everything, everyone fights all season - some of us we are sacked in the middle of the season.

"It is difficult for everyone so of course I have sympathy that's normal." 

Sunderland v Manchester United: Team news 

John O'Shea will sit out for Sunderland following the death of his father.

O'Shea will spend the weekend with his family in Ireland after missing the midweek defeat at Leicester to attend the funeral.

Adnan Januzaj is ineligible under the terms of his loan agreement while Steven Pienaar is close to a return from a calf problem, although fellow midfielder Jan Kirchhoff (knee) is unlikely to play again this season along with defender Paddy McNair and striker Duncan Watmore (both also knee).

Manchester United will be without Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young for Sunday's Premier League clash at Sunderland.

Captain Rooney missed the midweek clash against Everton with ankle issues, while Young limped forced off with an apparent groin injury against Everton.

Antonio Valencia returns after being rested for the midweek clash, while Juan Mata (groin), Phil Jones (toe) and Chris Smalling (knee) are long-term absentees.

Teams

Sunderland (from): Will appear here...

Manchester United (from): De Gea, Romero, Valencia, Fosu-Mensah, Tuanzebe, Rojo, Bailly, Blind, Darmian, Shaw, Carrick, Fellaini, Pogba, Herrera, Lingard, Willock, Mkhitaryan, Martial, Rashford, Ibrahimovic.

Sunderland v Manchester United: Our prediction 

Our Matt Brocklebank writes... Manchester United are vaguely threatening to throw the towel in and focus purely on gaining Champions League qualification via the Europa League, for which they are short-priced favourites to lift the trophy. 

However, Manchester City and Liverpool keep failing to slam the top-four door shut and they were both at it again in midweek. 

City were outclassed by Eden Hazard and lost at Chelsea, while Bournemouth’s Josh King burst the Anfield bubble with a late equaliser to enhance the Reds’ hopeless record against clubs they really ought to be beating at home. 

However, there was little change from a United perspective either as they wasted chance after chance in a 1-1 home draw with Everton. That’s now 20 top-flight games without defeat for Mourinho’s men but only half have yielded a maximum return and their whopping draw tally of 12 is the biggest in the division. 

Beating a clapped-out Sunderland side shouldn’t prove too difficult, however, and if pushed it’s very hard to argue with odds of 4/11 looking anything other than reasonable. 

The hosts have won once since a pre-Christmas rally of four wins in six weeks brought a bit of optimism to the place. That 4-0 victory at Crystal Palace at the start of February remains a bizarre anomaly on the form book, rather than anything more meaningful, and they’ve failed to register a single goal in six straight games since. 

With Jermain Defoe’s, and therefore the entire team’s, goals completely drying up it’s hardly surprising to see the away win to nil on offer around even-money, with the return of Victor Anichebe not expected to strike fear into the core of United’s defensive set-up. The Red Devils' backline will have to be changed once more though with Ashley Young now joining Chris Smalling and Phil Jones in the treatment room. 

Juan Mata is out long-term and the Wayne Rooney situation remains cloudy despite the official line being he missed Tuesday’s clash with his former club due to pain in both ankles. 

With Rooney seemingly over the hill, United have obviously been heavily reliant on a striker four years and 21 days his senior and Zlatan Ibrahimovic saved their blushes again with a last-gasp penalty against Everton. He scored the second in a 3-1 win in the reverse fixture on Boxing Day and is 8/13 anytime, 11/4 first and a measly-looking 7/2 for two or more here. 

Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s ‘scorpion’ rounded things off at Old Trafford and the Armenian has quietly worked his way to seven goals (mainly in Europe) this term. He’s expected to come back into the side along with Paul Pogba, who will surely see this as a great opportunity to boost his poor scoring return and help start piecing back together his reputation. 

Pogba looks a value alternative to Zlatan around 11/4 to find the net, with a 9/1 poke on the correct score also representing a quite attractive way to get the red-hot favourites on side.   

Prediction: Sunderland 0-3 Manchester United 

Sunderland v Manchester United: Opta facts 

Sunderland have lost 22 times against Manchester United in the Premier League – against no side have they suffered more Premier League defeats (also 22 against Chelsea). 

Manchester United haven’t won any of their last three games at the Stadium of Light in all competitions (D1 L2), this after an unbeaten run of 11 matches there. 

David Moyes will be the fifth different Sunderland manager to host Manchester United across the last five seasons (Martin O’Neill, Kevin Ball as caretaker, Gus Poyet and Sam Allardyce). 

Jermain Defoe has failed to score in his last six Premier League games against Manchester United, since netting against them for Spurs in March 2012. 

Sunderland are winless in their last six Premier League games on home soil, failing to score in the last four. They last went seven in a row without victory at home in January 2015. 

The Black Cats haven’t failed to score in five consecutive home league games since a run of six in May 1985 in the top-flight, where they were eventually relegated. 

Manchester United have won six and lost none of their last eight Premier League matches away from home; their longest unbeaten away run since August 2013 (13 games). 

The Red Devils have scored exactly three goals in each of their last two PL away games; they last scored three or more goals in three consecutive matches in November 2012. 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored eight goals in his last seven Premier League matches away from home for Manchester United. 

Eight of Sunderland’s 14 Premier League goals at the Stadium of Light this season have been scored by Jermain Defoe (57%). 

Manchester United are currently on a 20-game unbeaten run in the Premier League (W10 D10 L0). Of the 16 occasions a team has gone on a 20+ unbeaten run in the competition, this is the run with the lowest points per game average (2.0) and win ratio (50%).   

Sunderland v Manchester United: Sky Bet odds

Manchester United are Sky Bet’s 1/3 favourites with Sunderland up against odds of 9/1 to boost their survival chances, while the draw priced at 19/5. The Black Cats’ chances of avoiding relegation are even more slender at 33/1 to stay up, while Jose Mourinho’s men have drifted out to 100/30 for a top-four finish following back-to-back draws. Zlatan Ibrahimovic heads the first goalscorer betting at 5/2 with Jermain Defoe considered the hosts’ main threat at 17/2, while the duo are 9/2 both to find the net.   

Click for Sky Bet's Sunderland v Manchester United odds!