Sunderland welcome a struggling Watford side to the Stadium of Light, looking to keep pace with the top three in the Championship.
After a frustrating start to the campaign, Tony Mowbray's men are up and running with four wins from their last five league outings, and currently sit fourth in the second-tier standings. The Black Cats come off the back of a comfortable 3-0 win away against basement boys Sheffield Wednesday last time out.
The visitors, meanwhile, find themselves languishing in 20th place and just one point above the relegation zone after picking up only one point in their past three games.
Saturday's 3-2 home defeat to fellow strugglers Middlesbrough made it back-to-back games ahead of their trip to the Stadium of Light, and doubts over manager Valérien Ismael's future are certainly going to be raised if things do not improve.
Here GOAL brings you everything you need to know about how to watch, including TV channel, streaming details and more.
Sunderland vs Watford kick-off time
| Date: | Oct 4, 2023 |
| Kick-off time: | 2:45 pm EDT |
| Venue: | Stadium of Light |
The EFL Championship match between Sunderland and Watford will be played at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, England.
It will kick off at 2:45 pm EDT on October 4, 2023 in the United States (US).
How to watch Leeds United vs QPR online - TV channels & live streams
| ESPN+ | Watch here |
The game will be shown live on ESPN+. GOAL will also have live updates of the game on its Live Match Center page.
Team news & squads
Sunderland team news
Sunderland are heading into this affair with no fresh injury concerns. Bradley Dack, Eliezer Mayenda and Ajibola Alese are all expected to be out until after the international break with respective injury concerns, while summer signing Timothee Pembele is currently nursing an ACL injury that has kept him out of action since March.
Jack Clarke has been the main man in Tony Mowbray's youthful side, and his brace in last Friday's 3-0 dismantling of Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough took his tally to seven goals in nine appearances this term.
Sunderland possible XI: Patterson; Hume, O'Nien, Ballard, Huggins; Bellingham, Neil, Pritchard; Roberts, Burstow, Clarke
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers: | Patterson, Bishop |
| Defenders: | Ballard, Seelt, Batth, Triantis, Hume, Huggins, Rusyn |
| Midfielders: | O'Nien, Neil, Ba, Rigg, Taylor, Bellingham, Pritchard, Embleton, Clarke, Diamond, Roberts, Gooch |
| Forwards: | Semedo, Mayenda, Bennette |
Watford team news
Watford come into this affair with almost a clean bill of health as Valerien Ismael prepares for the trip up north, with Ken Sema understood to be the only absentee as he recovers from a muscle injury picked up last month.
Watford possible XI: Bachmann; Porteous, Sierralta, Hoedt; Ngakia, Louza, Dele-Bashiru, Kayembe, Lewis; Bayo, Healey
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers: | Bachmann, Hamer, Marriott |
| Defenders: | Louza, Asprilla, Chakvetadze, Martins, Kayembe, Kone, Dele-Bashiru, Ince, Livermore |
| Midfielders: | Sierralta, Lewis, Hoedt, Porteous, Ngakia, Pollock, Andrews, Morris |
| Forwards: | Bayo, Healey, Rajovic |
Head-to-Head Record
| Date | Match | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| 17/9/22 | Watford 2-2 Sunderland | EFL Championship |
| 1/4/17 | Watford 1-0 Sunderland | Premier League |
| 17/12/16 | Sunderland 1-0 Watford | Premier League |
| 15/5/16 | Watford 2-2 Sunderland | Premier League |
| 12/12/15 | Sunderland 0-1 Watford | Premier League |

