Sunderland vs Derby - Championship preview and odds

Published on: 04/08/2017

Sunderland vs Derby - Championship preview and odds

August 04 , 2016 19:45pm - Stadium of Light

Championship

Sunderland will look to put the memory of last season`s dire Premier League campaign behind them when they kick off their Championship campaign at home to promotion candidates Derby County on Friday night.

David Moyes has since been replaced by Simon Grayson, who has been tasked with guiding the club back to the top flight at the first attempt. However, he may have his work cut out expelling the sense of doom that has descended upon the club in the last 12 months. Of course, Sunderland`s problems go back even further than Moyes` reign but last year represented a new low in the recent history of the club.

Pre-season results should always be taken with a pinch of salt but there is no escaping the fact that the Mackems looked awful when losing 5-0 to a weakened Celtic team last week. Overall, their friendly schedule has not provided much positivity and that does not bode well for this opening fixture or for the rest of the campaign. In fact, they are not even in the reckoning to win the league if the bookies prices are anything to go by, with 11 teams ahead of them in the betting pecking order.

Meanwhile, Derby County will be hoping to improve on last year`s ninth place finish but the departures of creative players Will Hughes and Tom Ince may not have helped their cause. While they have weakened in attack, they have added some steel to the spine of the team with Curtis Davies and Tom Huddlestone coming in but they could struggle to reach the play-offs once again unless they strengthen up front.

Having said that, there is a much more positive vibe at Derby than at Sunderland at the moment and the Rams will be looking to take advantage of that on Friday night.

Recent form (All Comps)

Sunderland: LDWWL

Derby County: LLWWW

Betting odds and tips

This game might not be the entertaining season opener that the TV companies will be hoping for and goals might be hard to come by. However, Derby should be expected to come away with at least a point from their visit to the northeast.

The draw looks good value at 23/10 but the Derby/Draw Double Chance should also be considered at 1/2.

Back The Draw at best price of 23/10 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris