Is it make-or-break time for Chris Coleman’s side?
Sunderland travel to the Macron Stadium to face Bolton Wanderers in a crucial relegation six-pointer on Tuesday evening.
The Black Cats are 23rd in the Championship, three points adrift of safety while Bolton are currently 20th, four points better off than Sunderland.
Chris Coleman’s side should have been in buoyant mood after their dramatic 3-3 comeback draw against Bristol City, but they followed it up with a 2-0 home defeat against Brentford.
The Mackems have not been able to put an unbeaten run of longer than three games together at all this season and that inconsistency has seen them slip into the bottom three.
There have been some good individual results under Chris Coleman, but they have never been followed up with a positive result.
The match against Bolton must surely go down as a must win. If they lose to the Trotters, Sunderland will let a rival in the relegation battle pull seven points clear of them.
The Black Cats also have some difficult fixtures coming up with Middlesbrough and Aston Villa visiting the Stadium of Light either side of a trip to Millwall, so they need to pick up points to go within a point of Bolton.
Confidence is pretty low on Wearside so a defeat could be really damaging. While the Bristol City result looked to be a turning point, a win in Lancashire has the potential to be a catalyst. A 1-0 triumph against the Trotters will be much more useful to Sunderland than a dramatic comeback against a play-off chasing side, so it is crucial Coleman’s men do not slip up because they will give themselves a mountain to climb.
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