Sunderland v West Bromwich Albion Betting Tips

On the face of it this match is not one of the most mouth-watering Premier League ties taking place this weekend. However, it is incredibly important for both clubs and thus both feel it is a must-win fixture if they are to achieve their aims this season.

Sunderland’s target is mere survival which, at the moment, looks like a hard task to achieve with the club bottom of the table – just one point to their name after six matches. David Moyes came to the North East to restore his reputation after bad stints at Manchester United and Real Sociedad, but unfortunately for him the pressure is already mounting after a poor start to the 2016/17 season.

Last time out the Black Cats found themselves 2-0 up against Crystal Palace after the hour mark and were seemingly cruising to victory but a last minute winner from Christian Benteke meant the Eagles took all three points back to south London. David Moyes was obviously furious with his team to let a vital win slip and, having led comfortably with half an hour to go, the fact that they lost may have caused dented the confidence of the Sunderland players even further.

There have been a couple of bright spots for Sunderland so far this season. Firstly, former Tottenham Hotspur forward Jermain Defoe is actually among the top scorers in the Premier League and for Sunderland to have a striker with his ability in their ranks boosts their hopes of survival tenfold – imagine where they would be without him.

The other player who has looked good is goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. The 22-year-old is the latest in a line of good, young English goalkeepers to make a breakthrough and, like Defoe, the academy graduate has become a vital player for Moyes’ men. Who knows where they would be without his efforts.

West Brom manager Tony Pulis secured a draw away at former Stoke City in his 1000th game as a football manager. It was typical Albion as they were dogged against a tough side and managed to pull a result out of the bag thanks to a 91st minute Salomon Rondon header.

It had been a pretty poor start to the campaign for the Baggies until recently and they are now unbeaten in their last two matches, sitting inside the top 10 of the Premier League. They have certainly been under the radar as they are currently above last season’s champions Leicester City as well as former high-flyers Hull City and Watford – who everybody has been praising in recent weeks.

Albion may not score too many goals but in Salomon Rondon they have a player who is a lethal finisher. I tipped him to score anytime last weekend which saw me come away with a winner – although I was biting my nails a bit towards the end! The relief I felt when I saw that Rondon had got the flick rather than Jonny Evans was fantastic. The Venezuelan has scored three goals this season, including two in his last two matches, and, with new signing Nacer Chadli helping him out, the former Zenit St. Petersburg striker looks confident. Going up against a rather disorganised Sunderland back-line I would certainly back Rondon to score again at a very nice 2/1.

Overall I would back Albion to get a positive result here. This is a hugely pressurised game for Sunderland and we saw last time out that they struggled to cope with the pressure of being 2-0 up and failed to see the game out. Although Tony Pulis tends to try not to lose rather than win against smaller teams, he will fancy his team’s chances at the Stadium of Light after being in relatively good form.

I think the Baggies will pick up at least a point here and it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if they came away with all three. With this in mind I would look at the ‘Draw No Bet’ market where, at odds of 5/4, nice profit is made should they win, but stake is returned if the visitors walk away with a point. In all honesty this really is a must have bet, it’s virtually impossible to see West Brom getting turned over in this fixture.

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