Sunderland without eight vs West Brom Championship clash amid fresh blow
Sunderland will be without defender Danny Batth for their Championship clash against West Brom on Sunday, report the Sunderland Echo.
The 32-year-old has been a stalwart at the heart of the Black Cat’s defence but was forced off in the latter stages of their 1-1 draw against Huddersfield Town.
The Echo report (22 April) that the former Wolves defender is now out for the remainder of the campaign and joins Ross Stewart, Aji Alese, Corry Evans, Elliot Embleton, Chris Rigg, Jewison Bennette and Dan Ballard in the treatment room. Edouard Michut is also a doubt for the clash at The Hawthorns.
Huge
A defeat for either side on Sunday will be extremely damaging. The play-off battle has really started to heat up heading into the latter stages of the season and any mishap will be punished. West Brom are in a more favourable position but will see their hopes of a top-six finish severely dented with a loss.
One positive is that the Baggies have been fairly flawless at The Hawthorns. Their home has been somewhat of a fortress. Despite wins being hard to come by of late, they rarely lose and even a draw on Sunday will keep their playoff hopes well and truly alive.
Considering where Albion were when Steve Bruce was in charge, it’s been a remarkable turnaround and if West Brom miss out by the odd point, the board will be kicking themselves. A change should have been made earlier. Had Carlos Corberan had one or two more games in charge, there’s a chance the Baggies would already be nestled firmly in the playoffs.
In other West Brom news, Okay Yokuslu messages teammate on social media after injury blow.