SUNDERLAND NEED TO TALK MORE

Sunderland defender John O’Shea has said that they should talk a lot more if they are to get anything out of the match against Manchester City.

Manchester City will be coming on the back of a disappointing 0-0 draw with West Brom, who have become one of the few sides in the division to stop Manchester city from scoring.

As a result, Manchester City will be fired up to get all three points against Sunderland in the final match of 2011. It will also help them stay top of the league on the basis of goal difference on New Year’s Day. The latest Premiership betting odds makes City the clear favourites.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson famously predicted a few weeks ago that the club staying top on the New Year’s Day will eventually win the title. Now, it seems that Manchester city have the opportunity to do the same, but they need to get all three points against Sunderland. Sunderland have encountered a revival in form after the arrival of Martin O’Neill.

The club was considering a number of goals and subsequently points in the final few minutes of the matches, but that has all changed with the arrival of Martin O’Neill. In fact, Sunderland have taken a massive five points from the final few minutes of recent matches.

“City are incredibly strong and attacking-wise, they have great options with the likes of (Sergio) Aguero, (Mario) Balotelli (pictured below) and (Edin) Dzeko. It shows how much strength in depth they have got that they can afford to leave a player of the quality of Carlos Tevez out of the first team picture.

But these are the kind of players you look forward to taking on and testing yourself against,” John O’Shea said ahead of the crucial match between Sunderland and Manchester City at the Stadium of light.

It might be more realistic to have a bet on Sunderland winning the FA Cup rather than taking points off the Sky Blues – with O’Neill a cup specialist they could have more luck in the knockout competition.