Date: Sunday 5th January Competition: FA Cup with Budweiser Venue: Stadium of Light Kick-Off: 14:00 Sunderland look to continue their impressive form in cup competitions this season in the FA Cup, this time against near neighbours Carlisle United at The Stadium of Light. Former Sunderland Graham Kavanagh brings his League One side to face the Premier League basement side, looking to become the latest side to pull off a famous FA Cup third round upset. Gus Poyet has called on his side to produce a professional performance on Sunday as they look to reach the fourth round of the world's oldest cup competition.
"It's the game of the season for Carlisle so far, What an opportunity for them. "I want to see my team be professional and do the right things. It's up to the players on the pitch." (safc.com)
Team News
Sunderland are likely to field a weakened starting XI with David Moyes' Manchester United visiting Wearside as early as Tuesday night in the Capital One Cup semi final. Poyet could give the likes of Ji Dong Won, Charis Mavrias, El Hadji Ba and Cabral a chance to impress and an opportunity to show their boss that he may not need to spend as much as he plans this January. John O'Shea could return from injury and Wes Brown is also available following his three match suspension. New loan signing Marcos Alonso is expected to start at left back while Jordan Pickford could start in net to give Vito Mannone a rest. Carlisle could be without Max Ehmer and Tom Lawrence through injury, as is ex-Sunderland midfielder Paul Thirlwell with a calf strain. Liam Noble returns to Sunderland for the first time after leaving three years ago. Key Stats This is the seventh FA Cup meeting between Sunderland and Carlisle. They have only been drawn against each other on three previous occasions though all three ties went to replays. They met most recently in the 3rd Round of 1995. A 1-1 draw in Sunderland was followed by a 3-1 win for the Black Cats at Brunton Park. Sunderland have won the Cup twice, most recently in 1973, and were beaten by Liverpool in the Final of 1992. Carlisle's best FA Cup performance saw them reach the quarter-finals in 1975. (BBC Sport)Likely Line-UpsSunderland: Mannone, Bardsley, Roberge, Brown, Alonso, Johnson, Colback, Cabral, Mavrias, Borini, Ji Carlisle United: Amos, Chimbonda, Meppen-Walter, Ehmer, Robson, Berrett, Noble, Buaben, Amoo, Miller, Guy Prediction Sunderland 3-0 Carlisle United
Joseph is a sports journalist, who has previously worked for Sky Sports News, Soccer Saturday, UEFA's coverage of the Champions League and Europa League and The London 2012 Olympic Games, as well as football clubs such as FC Halifax Town, Corby Town and Crystal Palace FC.
