Pick of the stats: Sunderland v Watford
- Published
Sunderland welcome Watford on Saturday (12:30 GMT) looking to keep their automatic promotion bid alive.
The Black Cats are unbeaten in six matches (W4 D2) following a dramatic 3-2 win at local rivals Middlesbrough on Monday night and are three points behind both Burnley in second and Sheffield United in third.
A run of just one win in eight (D1 L6) has seen the Hornets slip to 12th but they are still only three points off the play-off spots.
Sunderland have won six of their past eight home league games against Watford (D1 L1), including victory in this exact fixture last season via a 2-0 scoreline.
Watford have won each of their past two league games against Sunderland and will be looking to win three in succession for the first time since January 1993.
Sunderland are unbeaten in all 14 of their Championship home games this season (W9 D5) – they last had a longer unbeaten home run from the start of a second tier (or higher) campaign in 1979-80, when they were unbeaten in all 21 at Roker Park.
Watford have lost six of their past eight league games (W1 D1), including each of the past three in a row. They've not lost four consecutively in the second tier since November 2014.
Wilson Isidor has scored in four of his past six league games for Sunderland, including the past two in a row. He last scored in three consecutive league games in July 2023, in the Russian Premier League with Lokomotiv Moscow.