Sunderland welcome Hull and a familiar face to the Stadium of Light this Saturday afternoon, with the Black Cats looking to build on their highly impressive derby win last time out. The Tigers will be hoping they can stop their recent slide down the league table. Match Preview Steve Bruce will take his place in the away dug out on Saturday when he returns to Sunderland for the first time with his Hull side. Bruce achieved respectable mid-table finishes with the Wearside club (13th and 10th) but the ruddy faced Geordie probably won't expect a good reception tomorrow, given his Newcastle connections. The sort of league position Bruce attained during his tenure at the club seemed like a distant fantasy to Sunderland fans before Christmas. In fact the Tigers hammered the Black Cats in the last fixture of 2013 to put a nine point gap between the two clubs. Not even the most optimistic Sunderland fan could have predicted the two sides would now be level on points at the beginning of February. Gus Poyet has brought renewed vigour and energy to the Wearside club along with some shrewd January signings. Marcos Alonso has been a revelation down the left flank with some outstanding displays and Liam Bridcutt, who is set to make his home debut, stifled the life out of the Newcastle midfield in an impressive display during last week's Tyne-Wear derby. However, it has been Poyet's ability to raise the level of the players left by the old regime that has had the biggest effect on the team's points haul. Adam Johnson is the newly crowned player of the month thanks to six goals in his last four games and the winger looks set to force his way back into the England set up. In defence the centre back pairing of Brown and O'Shea has begun to exude the confidence expected of players who spent much of their formative years at Man Utd. In fact, even Jozy Altidore has looked sharper of late, a real sign of the times at Sunderland! Hull will be looking to stop the rot they currently find themselves in and Bruce will no doubt be delighted if his team return home with at least a share of the spoils in what is a real six pointer. His side endured a miserable January and suffered four straight defeats, managing to end that run with last weekend's draw away to Spurs. In January the Tigers also invested in a bid to kick start their fading season and Bruce will be hoping seasoned campaigner Shane Long will provide the goals to keep his side up. Unfortunately such optimism can't be expected of Long's strike partner, Nikica Jelavic. The Croatian has failed to hit the net in nearly 16 hours of play and it would take a brave man to bet on him being first goalscorer tomorrow. Team News Steven Fletcher remains a doubt for Poyet's men as the striker struggles to overcome an ongoing Achilles problem. Elsewhere, Lee Cattermole faces a late fitness test to face the team he was sent off against in the reverse fixture. Steve Harper will be desperate to keep out his old foes as he continues to deputise in goal for the visitors. Allan Mcgregor sits out the second of his three game suspension. Likely Line Ups Sunderland: Mannone, Alonso, O'Shea, Brown, Bardsley, Bridcutt, Colback, Ki, Johnson, Altidore, Borini Hull: Harper, Rosenoir, McShane, Davies, Figueroa, Elmohamady, Meyler, Huddlestone, Brady, Jelavic, Long Prediction A tight game but Sunderland will be buoyed by their derby victory. 2-1 to the Black Cats. Stats courtesy of BBC Sport and Sky Sports
