Sunderland v Millwall Preview: Kick-off, TV coverage, tickets, team news, line-ups

Sunderland are in action when they take on Millwall in the Championship on Saturday.

Here are all the details you need to know about the game…

WHERE IS THE GAME TAKING PLACE?

Having seen off West Brom at the Hawthorns last weekend, Sunderland return to the Stadium of Light for their penultimate home game of the season when they host Millwall on Saturday.

The reverse fixture at the Den in early December ended in a 1-1 draw, with Jack Clarke’s late penalty enabling the Black Cats to claim a point.

Sunderland’s recent home record against Millwall is extremely strong, with the Lions having won just one of their last 11 matches on Wearside.

Last season’s game saw the Black Cats run out comfortable 3-0 winners thanks to goals from Amad Diallo, Alex Pritchard and Ellis Simms.

WHAT TIME IS KICK-OFF?

Saturday’s game kicks off at the traditional time of 3pm.

ARE TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE?

Yes – tickets for Saturday’s game are available from the ticketing section of Sunderland’s official website.

Prices start at £32 for adults, £29 for Over-65s, £24 for Under-22s and £14 for Under-16s.

IS THE GAME BEING TELEVISED OR STREAMED LIVE?

No – Saturday’s game is not being televised live. However, given that it falls in the Saturday 3pm window, domestic streaming will not be available.

Highlights will be screened as part of the Football League Highlights show on ITV4 from 9pm on Saturday evening.

Radio coverage of Saturday’s game will be available on BBC Radio Newcastle, and The Northern Echo’s Scott Wilson will be at the Stadium of Light producing a live blog, report, ratings, reaction and analysis on The Northern Echo’s website.

WHAT IS SUNDERLAND’S LIKELY LINE-UP?

Having kept an unchanged side for the last two matches, which resulted in a draw with Leeds and a win over West Brom, Mike Dodds could opt to go with the same players again against Millwall.

However, having fielded a back five in the last two away games, there will be an understandable temptation to revert to a flat back four on home soil.

Aji Alese has come off the bench in the last two games, and the defender will be hoping to return to the starting side for the first time since January. If Dodds does decide to go with a back four, Alese could get the nod at left-back ahead of Callum Styles.

Patrick Roberts is another option for a starting spot, although the winger’s promotion to the starting line-up would probably mean having to drop the in-form Chris Rigg.

Sunderland (probable, 5-2-3): Patterson; Pembele, Hume, Ballard, O’Nien, Styles; Neil, Ekwah; Rigg, Bellingham, Clarke.

HOW ARE MILLWALL SHAPING UP?

While Millwall are still not completely safe, their position in the bottom half of the table has improved markedly thanks to back-to-back wins over Leicester and Cardiff.

Neil Harris’ side head into the weekend sitting in 16th position in the table, six points clear of the drop zone with three games to play. That means, depending on other results, they could guarantee their safety with either a win or a draw on Wearside.

Former Sunderland skipper George Honeyman is a major doubt for the Lions after he was forced to sit out last weekend’s win over Cardiff because of a shoulder injury sustained in the previous match against Leicester.

Honeyman is hoping to be fit to return to the Stadium of Light, but Harris will not be taking any risks and has already hinted that the midfielder’s season could be over.

There could be another former Sunderland player in Millwall’s starting side, with Duncan Watmore having scored after coming on as a half-time substitute in the win over Cardiff.

Millwall (probable, 4-4-2): Sarkic; Leonard, Tanganga, Cooper, McNamara; Watmore, Mitchell, Saville, Longman; Flemming, Obafemi.