Saturday afternoon's early League One kick-off sees AFC Wimbledon host Sunderland, as the Lee Johnson's Black Cats make their first visit to the new Plough Lane stadium. Here are the odds and tips that have caught our eye.
The hosts are in serious danger of dropping back down to the fourth tier, and currently find themselves bottom of the form table with just one point taken from the last 18 on offer (five defeats, one draw) - with particular concerns at the back, having conceded two or more goals in five of the games of that streak.
Glyn Hodges men are now in the relegation zone by virtue of goal difference, although the table remains compact and they have a game in hand on many of the sides above them. They should also be relatively fresh for this one, given their last league outing was a 2-1 home defeat to league leaders Lincoln a fortnight ago, while Tuesday's 1-0 EFL Trophy win over Bristol Rovers may help boost confidence and give the coach some thoughts in terms of selection - although the club is still in the aftermath of a recent Covid-19 outbreak.
Sunderland also had issues with the virus, which resulting in cancellations over the festive period and giving new manager Johnson the unenviable task of playing catch-up on the sides in the promotion race. They sit 10th and have now drawn their last three matches, with last Saturday's lacklustre 1-1 draw at home to second-placed Hull a big opportunity missed in terms of closing the gap on automatic promotion. The North East outfit also sailed through to the last eight of the EFL Trophy in midweek, beating Port Vale 2-0.
These two sides last met only a month ago, in which they played out a 1-1 draw at the Stadium Of Light. Sunderland had previously won all three of their meetings with Wimbledon since dropping down to the third tier in 2018.
