SUNDERLAND
Gordon
Bardsley Ferdinand Ben-Haim Collins
Malbranque Whitehead Yorke Leadbitter Richardson
Jones

Ronaldo Tevez Rooney
Giggs Carrick Fletcher
Evra Vidic Ferdinand Neville
Van der Sar
MAN UNITED

Sunderland subs: Cisse, Edwards, Murphy, Fulop, Nosworthy, Reid, Healy, McShane.
Man United subs: Macheda, Welbeck, Foster, Park, Gibson, Martin, Eckersley, O'Shea, Scholes.

SUNDERLAND: George McCartney will not figure for the next couple of weeks after injuring his ankle playing for Northern Ireland. His absence means that Danny Collins is likely to continue in his full-back role, with Nyron Nosworthy and Tal Ben-Haim hoping to partner Anton Ferdinand. Teemu Tainio and Dwight Yorke are vying to start in central midfield.
Injuries: McCartney (ankle), Luscombe (knee), Connolly (groin), Anderson (knee), Dowson (knee), Henderson (knee)
Suspensions: None
Leading scorer: Cisse 9
Last five league games: LLLDL

MAN UNITED: Sir Alex Ferguson will assess the fitness test of Jonny Evans after the defender, who spent two spells on loan on Wearside, picked up a groin injury against Porto. But with Rio Ferdinand expected to return after a similar problem, Ferguson should not be too shy of defensive options.


Injuries: Evans (groin), Anderson (thigh), Berbatov (ankle), Brown (ankle), Hargreaves (knee), Rafael (ankle)
Suspensions: None
Leading scorer: Ronaldo 15
Last five league games: WLLWW
Key player: Ryan Giggs - the Welshman has gone off the boil in recent weeks and needs to find his form again to keep United ahead of the rest.

Referee: Rob Styles (Waterlooville) G20 Y65 R6 Cd av: 3.55
Last Sunderland game: v Stoke (h) 2-0, 7/2/09, Y3 R1
Head to head: Sunderland 37, United 48, Draws 26
Odds: H6/1; A2/5; D11/4

It’s a fact: Sunderland have never beaten Man United in the league at the Stadium of Light. Their last triumph was at Roker Park in 1997, when Michael Gray and John Mullin scored in a 2-1 win.
Comment By Andy Richardson: Sunderland need an Easter surprise over the champions to given themselves a bit of breathing space in the relegation fight. Unfortunately I can't see anything other than a United win.
Prediction: 1-2