Sunderland face Cardiff City this afternoon at the Stadium of Light, with the Black Cats hoping to extend their winning streak to four games.
Tony Mowbray gave his players little time to enjoy their midweek victory over Blackburn Rovers, with early preparations for today’s match against Cardiff City beginning in the Sunderland dressing room at Ewood Park. The Black Cats’ 3-1 triumph in Lancashire follows a 3-1 win at QPR last weekend and a 5-0 destruction of Southampton on Wearside earlier this month, and their three-game winning streak is their best since returning to the Championship in 2022.
They take on the Bluebirds at the Stadium of Light this afternoon, hoping to extend their winning streak to four games, which would be their greatest league streak since March 2021. And Mowbray claims he started preparing for today’s game nearly as soon as the final whistle blew against his former club Blackburn.
“It’s difficult to win back-to-back games in the Championship, let alone three,” Mowbray added. “It means you’ve won somewhere on the road, and in this particular run, we’ve actually won twice on the road [at Blackburn and QPR].”
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“Can we follow it up with a win at home?” That’s what we’re going for, but every game is difficult. That was my message to the team earlier in the week, when I spoke to them in the dressing room immediately after the game against Blackburn, discussing Cardiff and what they will offer.
“We have to be ready, we have to play it like a cup final, the fans have to get involved, and we have to try to get another three points and keep rolling.”
Cardiff defeated Sunderland 1-0 in the equivalent encounter last season, but they struggled overall, finishing just above the relegation zone, and they would have dropped into League One if Reading had not been docked six points, causing the Royals to bear the brunt of the punishment. However, due to a managerial change over the summer, Turkish coach Erol Bulut took over in South Wales, and they have made a solid start, picking up 10 points from their first seven games, and they arrive on Wearside on the back of back-to-back wins against rivals Swansea City and then in midweek against Coventry City.
“All the teams in this league have different ways of playing, and that’s why the Championship is such a challenge,” Mowbray remarked. Cardiff will be different from the previous game [against Blackburn] and the team we played before that [QPR].
“They have some very good players, and it appears to me that they have slightly upgraded their team.” Obviously, Aaron Ramsey, a great Welsh footballer, is back at Cardiff, and after watching their team, I would say they have recruited effectively.
“They have a new coach and have recently won back-to-back games, one of which was their big derby against Swansea City, and then they beat Coventry in midweek, and we all know how tough Coventry are – they were just above us in the play-offs last year.” Cardiff easily defeated them.
“It was 3-2 in the end, but Cardiff were really good in that game, so this is a game where we have to be at our best and turn up and be ready physically and bring all the skillsets that we have, and make it a good day because we will make it difficult for Cardiff with our supporters right behind us.”
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