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Tickets are SOLD OUT.

Full live match coverage available via www.safc.com.

Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online)

Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the game on the Roker Report Twitter feed (@RokerReport) and check out the player ratings after the full-time whistle at www.RokerReport.sbnation.com!

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One of the most beloved Sunderland managers of recent times will stand in the opposite dugout today, with Tony Mowbray set to take charge of his West Brom side in their quest to not only spoil Sunderland’s afternoon, but improve the fortunes of his own team following a disappointing run of results and performances.

Despite being sat 7th in the Championship table, all is not rosy in the Baggies’ garden at present and fans are starting to grow frustrated by a string of poor showings from a team who are clinging onto playoff hopes by a thread.

With top scorer (and former mackem) Josh Maja out for the season, the big frustration has been Mowbray’s inability to get star signing Adam Armstrong firing in a league where he has thrived previously — so you can probably guess what might happen this afternoon.

Whilst he was known for his brand of smashmouth football when in charge on Wearside, Mowbray’s all out attacking philosophy hasn’t yet transferred to his new club and fans are waiting for things to really pick up and take off at a point in the season where those in the playoff zone need to gather momentum when it matters most.

Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images

Despite becoming a target from supporters for his recent performances, John Swift has become a favourite under Mowbray and is likely to play, whilst right back Darnell Furlong makes his welcome return to the team following a three-game suspension — news that will be welcome given how poor Mason Holgate was last weekend against Norwich.

It feels like this might be a good time to play the Baggies, and we should take a lot of confidence from our win and performance last weekend against another playoff-chasing side in Millwall. I’d argue we were better than the 1-0 scoreline suggested, and we saw the Lads play in a style that is much more like the kind of footy we want to see from them - on the front foot, pressing when we don’t have the ball and looking to carve teams open quickly.

The makeshift back four of Trai Hume at left back, Luke O’Nien and Chris Mepham in the centre and Alan Browne on the right is likely to stay together for this one, and rightly so — it’s arguably the most cohesive we’ve looked in a while in defence, and despite the return of Leo Hjelde from injury there’s no real need to break them up.

We should also see the return of Enzo Le Fee to the matchday squad following his recovery from a hamstring problem, and whilst the temptation to start him will be there from Regis Le Bris, I think it’s likely we’ll take our time with introducing Enzo over the coming weeks. As a real difference maker, we need him fit for the playoffs and we have the luxury of time, so let’s take it.

Will Tommy Watson feature at all? Given our injuries, I think it’s likely he’ll be on the bench, but I’d be reluctant to use him unless we’re desperate following the revelation this week that he’s agreed to sign for Brighton. He may well claim to be committed, but he’s not all that important to us and we have other players more deserving of opportunities now.

We’ll likely see an entirely unchanged side, and I think Le Bris will stick with Wilson Isidor up top in a bid to help the Frenchman rediscover his scoring touch — harsh on Eliezer Mayenda perhaps, but we have another two games this week and he’s going to get plenty of minutes regardless.

Haway the Lads — let’s keep pushing positively towards the Playoffs!

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Palmer, Furlong, Kipre, Bartley (Ajayi 45), Townsend (Phillips 67), Chalobah (Reach 45), Mowatt, Johnston (Swift 62), Fellows, Diangana (Wallace 61), Thomas-Asante. Griffiths, Weimann, M’Vila, Yokuslu.

Patterson, Pembele (Alese 71), Hume, O’Nien, Ballard, Styles, Neil, Ekwah, Rigg (Roberts 71), Clarke (Ba 90), Jobe. Bishop, Mundle, Aouchiche, Dack, Hemir, Burstow.

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Kevin Kilbane started out at Preston North End in the mid-1990s and joined West Brom in 1997, where he played under former Sunderland manager Denis Smith. Two years later Peter Reid snapped up the Republic of Ireland international for around £2.5m.

Kilbane’s four years on Wearside could be described as mixed, but a move to Everton put him back under the stewardship of David Moyes, as he was at Preston, and Kilbane flourished at Goodison.

Three years on Merseyside was followed by three years at Wigan Athletic and three more at Hull City before he hung up his boots after a brief spell at Coventry City in 2012.

Photo by David Rawcliffe/EMPICS via Getty Images

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