Match day, manager feeling the pressure and only a matter of time now

I'm not going over the match again - we all know the stats - their home record is just a little bit better than our away record and this match has draw written all over it.

But, the manager would have you believe it is a 'myth' that he plays negative football. A 'myth' is his word, not mine - The Clown is deluded and what is becoming even more worrying as each day passes is that the club didn't know this before they appointed him and they are still not acting.

So, even if we win today (the math say we will beat either Bolton or Stoke) his job isn't safe and he knows he is on his last legs. He wont quit though - that means giving up all the money and because we have an owner new to the game and a CEO even newer, they appear to not know that they have to act.

To the match

So, with just the match to look forward to, that is where we find ourselves waiting. In just over four hours the manager sends out a team with a list full of excuses ready if they don't get the three points.

It should be a fairly young side, if you believe the reports that Petrov, Ireland and Cuellar are for sale in January - is that all three of them going to Sunderland then or is that just my imagination running wild.

Team news as we get it, along with odds below. I'm going for a late breakfast of bacon and beans on toast with lots of brown sauce. Back in a couple of hours.