Sunderland face a huge clash with Preston North End this weekend, desperate for points to give them a fighting chance of avoiding the drop into League One.

Two players that will miss out are John O'Shea and Marc Wilson.

Wilson has been out since the January 14th defeat at Cardiff City and has been back in training, although this weekend will be too early for a return to first team action. Wilson joined the Black Cats on deadline day from Premier League side West Brom.

36-year old O'Shea picked up a knock during the 1-0 defeat at QPR at the weekend and hasn't trained all week. He will train today, but is another doubt for the visit of Preston.

There is positive news around Kazenga Lua Lua, he's back in contention for a starting place. He hasn't played since February 10th, but he's reported as 'looking sharp' this week. He made 158 appearances for Brighton before his move to the Stadium of Light on a short term deal in January.

Finally, former Manchester United player Paddy McNair could also be in contention tomorrow after coming off with a knock in the 3-3 draw with Middlesbrough in February.

He's managed only nine appearances in an injury hit season, 20 in total since his move from Old Trafford in the summer of 2016.

The Verdict

Sunderland need all hands to the pump at the moment, five points adrift of safety and with a solitary win to their name this year.

It's going to be a huge task to claw their way out of the bottom three and today's injury news, whilst positive, won't be enough on it's own to keep them up.

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