Fine margins costing Sunderland but don't rule out Bramall Lane surprise

It's all about fine margins for Sunderland who have slipped from five points clear at the top of the Championship to fourth in the blink of an eye. Those tiny details were demonstrated in the 1-1 draw at Millwall when Milan Aleksić should have made it 2-0 with seconds to go to make himself a hero in front of the travelling hordes.

Instead, he looked anything but comfortable in allowing his one-on-one effort to be saved. That sparked an immediate counter-attack and the reaction of Wilson Isidor was also highlighted when he put his hands on his knees and stood there as Femi Azeez was allowed to venture into Sunderland’s half unmarked to arrive at the back post and score the equaliser.

When you consider the absentees in the line-up at Millwall it was a creditable result. The frustration comes from the fact it could have been better. Let’s be honest, most Sunderland fans would have expected a home win against West Brom.

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An interesting aspect is the fact the ‘core’ of players that began the season as ‘starters’ were largely in place against Albion except for Romaine Mundle and Dennis Cirkin and the Black Cats still didn’t score. Jobe Bellingham’s return was especially welcome.

Isidor’s offside goal was marginal and the result could have been so different if that had gone in. Similarly, Chris Rigg and Patrick Roberts came close. Five straight draws will be considered good in one sense but when you are top of the table, more could reasonably be expected and the likes of Sheffield United, Leeds United and Burnley have pounced without hesitation.

Next comes a trip to Bramall Lane and it couldn’t be a tougher place for Sunderland to break the draw sequence and win again for the first time since beating Oxford United on October 26.

The Blades have conceded just two league goals at home all season – and remarkably they came in the first game in a 2-2 draw with QPR. Since then, they have won seven on the trot without conceding. There have been four 1-0s, two 2-0s and a 3-0.

Not many pundits would predict an away victory but this is football and records are there to be broken.