... the cancellation of Wednesday’s proposed game at Manchester City means the Black Cats now have two matches to slot in before the end of the season.
The tally will increase further if they continue to progress in the FA Cup, but goalkeeper Vito Mannone is unconcerned at the potential for a fixture pile-up in the final weeks of the campaign.
“We were thinking we were going into March with a lot of fixtures to come,” said Mannone. “Now, we’ll have quite a few more fixtures than the other relegation contenders, which is going to be tough mentally.
“We’re down there in the bottom three and we haven’t played as many as the rest. It’s going to be difficult, we know that.
“But we need to stay positive and, if we are playing every three days, we have to be on top of our game. In our position, we need to get as many points as possible.”
Sunderland supporters are being advised to retain their match tickets for the postponed game at the Etihad Stadium. All tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled fixture, which will be announced in due course, and any supporters who cannot attend on the new date will be offered a full refund.