Sunderland travel to take on Preston North End at Deepdale on Saturday evening, hoping to improve upon an average previous return from this fixture. Black Cats have won 12 of the 50 games compared to the host's 24 victories.
The last time the two teams met at Preston NE was well over fifteen years ago, back in February 1988, where the two teams cancelled each other out in an enthralling 2 - 2 draw in a Third Division match.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams: | |||||
| 1987/1988 | Sat 13 Feb | Preston NE | 2 - 2 | Sunderland | DIV3 |
| 1987/1988 | Mon 28 Dec | Sunderland | 1 - 1 | Preston NE | DIV3 |
| 1979/1980 | Sat 16 Feb | Preston NE | 2 - 1 | Sunderland | DIV2 |
| 1979/1980 | Sat 29 Sep | Sunderland | 1 - 1 | Preston NE | DIV2 |
| 1978/1979 | Tue 21 Nov | Preston NE | 3 - 1 | Sunderland | DIV2 |
| 1978/1979 | Sat 02 Sep | Sunderland | 3 - 1 | Preston NE | DIV2 |
| 1973/1974 | Sat 16 Feb | Sunderland | 2 - 1 | Preston NE | DIV2 |
Recent respective form guides
Preston North End are in decent form at home, having won four and drawn two of their last six games, These high-scoring games have yielded a total of 15 goals for the North End, with 5 goals against.
In complete contrast to Preston NE, Sunderland are having a torrid time on their travels, losing every single one of the last six matches played! Black Cats have conceded 13 goals in these games, and only hit 1 in reply.
Preston NE find themselves struggling down in 16th position in the league having picked up 1 points from their 2 matches. Sunderland are stuck down in the relegation zone of Nationwide League Division One with a return of just 0 points from their 2 games thus far.
For a detailed analysis of team form guides throughout the leagues, click here
| Current form guides: | P | W | D | L | F | A | P |
| Preston NE | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 9 |
| Sunderland | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 0 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
FootyMad see this game edging towards a narrow win for the North End, as the Black Cats have been none too clever on the road in recent matches. Home win
| Sequence statistics: | |
| Preston NE | Unbeaten in the last 6 home games. Not drawn a match in their last 7 . |
| Sunderland | Lost each of the previous 6 away matches. Not won in previous 15 away matches. An overall losing run of 13 games. No win in the 18 most recent games. |