Sunderland face Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Paul Merson and Chris Sutton have both predicted that Sunderland will lose 2-0 to Bournemouth when the two sides meet at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.
The Black Cats have struggled to pick up points in recent weeks, and currently find themselves in the midst of a run of just two wins their past seven top flight outings. As a consequence, they have slipped to twelfth in the table.
Nevertheless, Regis Le Bris’s men could leapfrog their hosts with a win this weekend, with the Cherries currently two points and four spots ahead of the Premier League new boys heading into the contest.
The last time the two teams faced each other, Sunderland overturned a two-goal deficit to come from behind in dramatic fashion at the Stadium of Light in a stunning 3-2 victory. The Black Cats can expect a stern test on the south coast, however, with Andoni Iraola’s home side unbeaten their last seven league fixtures.
And it is within this context that both Merson and Sutton have forecast a fairly routine win for Bournemouth.
What did Paul Merson say ahead of Bournemouth vs Sunderland?
Speaking to Sportskeeda for his weekly predictions column, Merson said: “Sunderland are on a slippery run at the moment. They did all the good work early on in the season so they're not in trouble. That loss against Fulham last weekend would have hurt them.
“Bournemouth, meanwhile, are turning a corner now. They are starting to look good again and at home, I'll have to back them to get the win. Sunderland haven't been poor in recent games. It's just that all their opponents were in fine form, which is also the case with Bournemouth now.” The former Arsenal man has opted for a 2-0 Bournemouth victory.
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What did Chris Sutton say ahead of Bournemouth vs Sunderland?
For his part, in his latest round of predictions for BBC Sport, Sutton agreed with Merson’s assessment, also opting for a 2-0 Cherries victory. He said: “Sunderland just seem to be fading a little bit.
“They went fourth in the table when they beat Bournemouth 3-2 at the Stadium of Light at the end of November, but their results have tailed off recently and they have missed Granit Xhaka's influence in recent weeks.
“Xhaka came off the bench in last week's defeat by Fulham and, if he starts this time, they will be better organised here. I still fancy Bournemouth to win it, though. They always create chances and Rayan has done well since signing in January to replace Antoine Semenyo.”
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