Sunderland v Norwich City
Championship | Stadium of Light
Saturday, 28 October 2023 @ 3.00pm
Saturday's match between Sunderland and Norwich City promises to be one for the neutrals, as two of the Championship's most free-scoring sides go head-to-head.
Ahead of the game at the Stadium of Light, the Black Cats and the Canaries sit joint-fourth and third in the goal-scoring charts, with 21 and 24 goals respectively.
Striker Jack Clarke leads the way for the home side, having bagged eight goals in their 13 games to date.
And Jon Rowe has been the main man in the opponents' penalty box for Norwich, with seven goals.
In the last 10 years, Sunderland and Norwich have played each other on eight occasions. They won three each, and they drew twice.
On average, the Black Cats scored 1.1 goals and the Canaries 1.0 in those matches.
Their last meeting was on March 12, when Sunderland won 1-0 away.
Norwich's Gabriel Sara is the league's most creative player, racking up five assists in 13 appearances so far this season.
For Sunderland, Dan Neil and Alex Pritchard have set up the most goals, having laid on two assists apiece to date.
The Black Cats are in disappointing form in the Championship, with two wins and four losses from their last six games.
With a win and a draw over that period, City's form is slightly worse – they have taken four points from 18, compared to the home team's six.
Sunderland are 10th in the table after 13 games, of which they have won six and drawn one, earning 19 points.
The Canaries are four places behind Sunderland in 14th, with five wins and two draws putting them on 17 points.
Sunderland's last match was on Tuesday, a 1-0 loss against Leicester City.
Norwich lost 2-1 against Middlesbrough last time out, also on Tuesday, with Rowe on the scoresheet.
Saturday's match will be refereed by Anthony Backhouse, who has taken charge of four Championship games so far this season, issuing no red cards and booking 17 players. He has awarded one penalty.
He is yet to oversee a match featuring either Sunderland or Norwich this season.