Sunderland vs. Manchester United: Team News, Live Stream, TV Info, Ticket News

Sunderland vs. Manchester United sees Sam Allardyce and Louis van Gaal's sides face off against each other with both in fairly desperate need of points. 

The Black Cats are in 19th place in the league, three points behind Norwich in 18th and four points off Newcastle in 17th. Safety looks far from assured. 

The Red Devils may not be threatened by relegation, but they certainly look like missing out on their key targets for the season as they sit in fifth place, six points behind Manchester City in fourth. 

Van Gaal was asked about the mood at the club at his pre-match press conference and replied, per the United's website: 

"

We are doing great in that perspective I think. We had lost four matches in a row in December and you see us now. You can only say that we are mentally very strong and that we can cope with the pressure. That is not enough as we have to improve our results and consistency to win a lot of matches in a row. We have to minimise the gap to our competitors.

"

Jermaine Defoe talked up Sunderland's team spirit when discussing the comeback his team pulled off against Liverpool on 6 February saying, per Sunderland's website:

"

It was great character from the boys but we also did it against Manchester City when our second-half performance was fantastic.

We had great energy and we look fitter as a team now; the games are running out and we need the results now so there is a lot of pressure, but you just have to stay relaxed and look forward to the games.

Manchester United have had an up and down season and people will say it is a good time to play them, but each game is different and we just have to focus on ourselves and apply ourselves in the right way.

Manchester United are Manchester United and they are one of the biggest teams in the world with top players.

"

There is a long way to go between now and the end of the season, but for both of these clubs, dropped points could potentially be very costly indeed.

Date: Tuesday, February 2, 2015

Time: 12.45 p.m. GMT/7.45 a.m. ET

Venue: Stadium of Light, Sunderland, England

TV Info: BT Sport 1 (UK only)/NBCSN and NBC Universo (U.S. only)

Live Stream: BT Sport (UK only)/NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S. only)

Form Lines

Sunderland: LWLDLD

Manchester United: DWLWWD

Team News

Sunderland have terminated Adam Johnson's contract, per a statement on their website.

The club's website also confirms that Younes Kaboul, Seb Larsson, Jeremain Lens and Duncan Watmore are all unavailable, but that Fabio Borini is likely to return following an illness. Allardyce said:  

"

Seb Larsson has joined in training but he won’t be put in the squad because it’s too early this weekend.

Younes Kaboul suffered a fresh injury – ankle ligament – in training the day before the Liverpool game, and Duncan Watmore is going to be considerable time with ankle ligaments as well.

Younes hasn’t done it too badly but Dunc has a bit more of a problem due to the rotation in the ankle when he hit the floor, so we will have to see how it responds in the next ten days to two weeks.

We have one or two other niggles; Billy Jones has a hip problem and after that it’s just bumps and bruises, but certainly Duncan and Younes are out of the picture for this weekend.

We think – we’re not absolutely certain – that Jeremain Lens may have a hernia.

"

As for United, Van Gaal asserted to MUTV (h/t the club's website) that, "It's not looking good because I also let my players play in the second team and various players were injured again."

Phil Jones, Guillermo Varela and Adnan Januzaj are all injured following their involvement. 

As for the longer-term injuries, Van Gaal said:

"

I cannot say Bastian [Schweinsteiger] is returning within two weeks because I have given him, more or less, a little holiday as he also has to change his mindset. It's good for players. I have done that also with Antonio Valencia, Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw, for example, when you are injured for longer than normal.

The light at the end of the tunnel is more for Rojo and for Valencia. They are coming back and I hope it's as soon as possible.

"

Predicted Lineups

With Johnson sacked and the injuries Sunderland are facing, the above lineup seems a reasonable selection for Allardyce. He has favoured a 4-1-4-1 in his past couple of games, and there is little reason to change that here, especially as both Lee Cattermole and Yann M'Vila will attend to their defensive duties regardless of the formation.

Expect DeAndre Yedlin to start in Jones' place if he is unavailable.

Manchester United have no real need to change the XI that started against Chelsea. Their team has had a much better balance of attack and defence of late.

It could be that the balance of midfield is altered, with Morgan Schneiderlin or Ander Herrera in for Michael Carrick or Marouane Fellaini, but Van Gaal has seemed in no rush to remove the former Everton man from the side, and Carrick has made a positive contribution since his return. 

Players to Watch

Jermain Defoe got himself back onto the scoresheet against Liverpool in the Black Cats' last runout. He had gone three games without a goal following his back-to-back brace and hat-trick against Aston Villa and Swansea at the beginning of January. 

LINDSEY PARNABY/Getty Images

While United's defence has solidified a little of late, their last trip to the north-east resulted in them conceding three goals against Newcastle, so Defoe will have reason to believe he can find some success here. Wahbi Khazri has been bright since his January move from Bordeaux. With one start and one substitute appearance, he is averaging two key passes per 90 minutes and has an assist to his name already.

Wayne Rooney was less impressive against Chelsea than he has been during a significant purple patch since the start of 2016—he has seven goals and three assists in the eight games since the turn of the year. 

Plenty of eyes will be on him to see if the Chelsea game was a blip or a reversion to the considerably less impressive form he had shown earlier in the season. 

Elsewhere, Juan Mata's move to No. 10 has coincided with United's best football of the season. He could do with an authoritative performance to cement his claim to the role. 

Key Battle

Cattermole and M'Vila versus Fellaini and Carrick could be a key battleground in this one.

It will be important in terms of United's battle for dominance of possession, but with Cattermole and Fellaini both possessing something of a fiery reputation, there is also the potential for some serious off-the-ball fireworks. Fans of both sides will hope that their combative midfielder gets the best of any psychological battle here.

Ticket News

For ticket information on all Premier League games, visit the official site or go to the ticket page on the home club's official website.

Odds

Sunderland: 43-10

Draw: 11-4

Manchester United: 79-100

Odds for the game correct at the time of writing, per Odds Shark.

All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com.