Wimbledon - Sunderland, English Division 1
2004-04-06 20.45 CET
Pick: Sunderland
Stake: 3%
Odds: 1,56
Final reason for bet
· Sunderland is in a good run in the league.
· Sunderland is determined to win tonight to close the gap to the two top teams.
· Sunderland has an almost fully fit squad.
· Wimbledon is not good enough despite their shock victory during the weekend.
General comment about the game
Tonight promotion hopefuls Sunderland will travel south to meet Wimbledon in English division 1. Sunderland played against Millwall in one of the FA cup semi finals during the weekend. The match was hard fought and either of the team could have won it. Unfortunately for Sunderland, Millwall’s goal in the first half was enough for them to reach their first FA cup final ever. The Sunderland players must be very disappointed not only too loose the game but also to miss out on next year’s UEFA Cup. Tonight just a few days after the FA cup defeat they will face rock-bottom side Wimbledon in the league. Even if Sunday’s defeat still hurts they know that they need to win tonight to still be in the direct promotion race. Getting back to the premiership has always been Sunderland’s main aim this season so we believe that they will coupe with this situation. Manager Mick McCarthy says that the FA Cup defeat has made them even more determined to hunt down the leading pair. At the moment they reside in third place eleven points behind the two top teams. However, they have the advantage of two more matches left to play so they are very much in the race. This was something that looked wasted during the early weeks this year but their recent good run has put them right back on track; from the last seven games they have five wins and two draws. Sunderland will miss midfielder Jeff Whitley (27 apps, 1 goal) through suspension and defender Stephen Wright (19(2) apps, 1 goal) through injury.
Wimbledon is on a road that inevitable will lead them down to the second division next year. They are 23 points behind Gillingham that resides just above the drop zone and with only 24 more points available not even a miracle would be enough for them to stay put in the first division. Their form during 2004 is awful with eleven defeats from twelve matches. As previously reported they have sold many of their best players during this period and also injuries on other key players have ruined their chances to even be fighting to avoid relegation. However, their last game was very positive when they managed to shock us all by winning on the road against playoff candidates Wigan with 1-0. Club skipper Ben Chorley scored the only goal early in the first half and after that Wimbledon battled hard against to collect all three points. Wimbledon created a few more chances that could have double their lead but the match was dictated by Wigan’s inability to score together with one of their worst performances for the season. Wigan manager Paul Jewell described his team’s performance as terrible. Wimbledon will welcome back midfielder Wade Small (16(3) apps, 1 goal) to the squad tonight. Small has been sidelined since the beginning of March with a groin injury. However, they will still miss veteran striker Dean Holdsworth (14(12) apps, 3 goals) who has been out injured since late February. Defender Peter Hawkins (13(1) apps, 0 goals)) is rated doubtful for this game.
We believe that strong Sunderland will use tonight’s game as an opportunity to make a quick recovery from their disappointing FA Cup semi-final defeat during the weekend. Furthermore, they have been warned not to take anything for granted by Wigan’s recent poor display against Wimbledon. Anything other than a comfortable victory for Sunderland would be a major setback for their promotion bid. Medium stake 3% is suggested.
Recent games for home team
|
2004-04-03 |
Wigan-Wimbledon |
0-1 |
|
2004-03-27 |
Wimbledon-Ipswich |
1-2 |
|
2004-03-24 |
Wimbledon-Millwall |
0-1 |
|
2004-03-13 |
Walsall-Wimbledon |
1-0 |
|
2004-03-09 |
West Ham-Wimbledon |
5-0 |
Recent games for away team
|
2004-03-27 |
Sunderland-Derby |
2-1 |
|
2004-03-23 |
Sunderland-Gillingham |
2-1 |
|
2004-03-20 |
Reading-Sunderland |
0-2 |
|
2004-03-16 |
Sunderland-Stoke |
1-1 |
|
2004-03-13 |
Sunderland-West Ham |
2-0 |
Home table
|
Wimbledon |
19 |
2 |
3 |
14 |
15-33 |
9 |
Away table
|
Sunderland |
18 |
7 |
4 |
7 |
25-24 |
25 |
Links for this game
|
Wimbledon: |
|
|
Sunderland: |
|
|
|
|
|
Livescore: |
|
|
|
|
|
League: |
|
|
|
|
// SportsObserver 040406
