Manchester City vs. Sunderland: Preview, TV schedule and how to watch online
City will get a chance to rebound from a disappointing loss against Liverpool with a home match against the Premier League cellar dweller Sunderland.
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Manchester City suffered a tough defeat at the hands of Liverpool over the weekend, but they must bounce back quickly for one of their "games in hand" against Sunderland.
The loss against Liverpool was a blow to City’s title hopes, but they remain in the race if they can win out and get a little help along the way. First up is Sunderland, which is probably one of the better rebound opponents in the Premier League. While Yaya Touré will be out with an injury, Sergio Agüero is expected to start after making his return over the weekend as a substitute.
Gus Poyet and Sunderland are quickly running out of time to avoid relegation to Championship. The Black Cats are winless in their last eight matches and have shown little to make anyone believe they can pull off a great escape.
City, meanwhile, will see this as one of the games they absolutely have to win. Their schedule is mostly cake from here until the end of the season, but this is their simplest game of the bunch, at least on paper. They have a tricky trip away to Everton coming up in which they could drop points, and if they fail to win that match, they might need to win all of their other games to lift the title at the end of the season.
Manchester City injuries and suspensions
Out: Yaya Touré (groin).
Sunderland injuries and suspensions
Out: Phil Bardsley (suspended). In Doubt: Steven Fletcher (ankle).
Yaya Touré is unavailable after injuring his groin against Liverpool. It’s a big blow for City, but based on how they played in the second half over the weekend, they are capable of surviving without him. Sunderland will be missing fullback Phil Bardsley due to suspension, and Steven Fletcher is highly doubtful with an ankle problem.
Projected lineups
Manchester City: Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany, Martin Demichelis, Aleksandar Kolarov, Javi Garcia, Fernandinho, Jesus Navas, David Silva, Samir Nasri, Sergio Agüero.
Sunderland: Vito Mannone, Ondrej Celustka, John O'Shea, Wes Brown, Marcos Alonso, Lee Cattermole, Danny Colback, Adam Johnson, Ki Sung-Yueng, Fabio Borini, Connor Wickham.
Match Date/Time: 7:45 p.m. local, 2:45 p.m. ET
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England
TV: NBC Sports Network (U.S.), TSN (Canada)
Online: NBC Live Extra (U.S.)
Listings via LiveSoccerTV.
