Sunderland will look to move out of the Premier League’s bottom three for the first time since August when they face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Boxing Day.
The Black Cats made a dreadful start to the campaign – a yearly occurrence now – by taking just two points from their first 10 matches, but things have improved since they recorded a 2-1 win at Bournemouth at the start of November.
David Moyes’ side have taken 12 points from their previous seven fixtures, including the 1-0 win against Watford at the Stadium of Light last weekend, to move up to 18th and within one point of safety as they look to avoid their seemingly perennial relegation battle at the end of the season.
They will certainly need to be at their very best if they are to pick up a win against the in-form United, who have won their last league games as Jose Mourinho appears to have finally found his preferred system and strongest starting XI.
Here are three ways that Sunderland can take all three points back to Wearside…
Stop Ibrahimovic and Pogba
Managers often say that they will concentrate on themselves rather than the opposition but you feel that Sunderland will need to stop in-form duo Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba performing if they are to have any chance of pulling off an unlikely win at Old Trafford.
The latter has been named as United’s man of the match in their previous two Premier League matches – triumphs against Crystal Palace and West Brom – while he also scored against the Eagles.
Meanwhile, Ibrahimovic has scored three goals in those two games, including a brace in the 2-0 success against the Baggies last weekend.
If David Moyes’ side can find a way of stopping the duo, they may just get the result they want.
Support Defoe
For many of their early-season matches, one of Sunderland’s main problems was their failure to get enough bodies around lone striker Defoe.
However, a change of formation by David Moyes in recent weeks has seen Victor Anichebe provide support to the prolific attacker, who has netted eight of the Black Cats’ 15 Premier League goals this term.
It is vital Defoe’s teammates offer that support again at Old Trafford, with Sunderland likely having to bypass the midfield to springboard attacks – which brings us nicely onto…
Counter attacks
Some of Sunderland’s Premier League rivals, such as Burnley and West Ham, have picked up points at Old Trafford this season by sitting deep and letting Manchester United attack them. But if the Black Cats are to do the same, they will need to be effective on the counter attack.
They will miss the ineligible Adnan Januzaj as they look to do this, with the winger unavailable because of the terms of his loan move from the Red Devils, but the likes of Defoe, Anichebe and van Aanholt will need to be able to break quickly to provide that goal threat on the counter.
