Sunderland vs Manchester City - as it happened: Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero fire visitors to victory
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Your support makes all the difference.Manchester City finally look like they’ve hit a bit of form after a torrid spell over Christmas which saw them drop out of the title race.
Since the 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Everton in January, Pep Guardiola’s side have drawn 2-2 with Tottenham – a game they should have won – as well as three straight wins over West Ham, Swansea and Bournemouth.
Those results have pushed City back to third, one place behind second-placed Spurs, with a game in hand.
Bottom-of-the-table Sunderland stand in their way this weekend and, with only one win since the turn of the year, David Moyes faces a tough task to get his side out of trouble.
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Vital information…
The game kicks off at 4pm on Sunday 5 March and the game will be shown on Sky Sports 1.
It’s a big game for…
Sergio Aguero. Sunderland should prove cannon fodder for a striker of Aguero’s qualities and with Guardiola still unconvinced by the Argentine there is no better time for him to prove his worth. Aguero has scored four goals and two assists in his last four games against the Black Cats.
Player to watch…
Kevin de Bruyne. The Belgian is the creative hub of the Manchester City attack and will surely thrive against a leaky Sunderland defence which has conceded six goals in their last two games.
Best stat…
Jermain Defoe has scored eight goals against Manchester City over the course of his career and has only had more success against Wigan, who he has scored 10 against.
Form guide…
Sunderland: LLDWLL
Manchester City: WWWDWW
Odds…
Sunderland to win: 10/1
Manchester City to win: 3/11
Draw: 51/10
(Courtesy of 888.com)
12 MINS
Larsson takes down Silva deep into his own half. The Sunderland man hints to the referee that the Spanish international dived, but the referee believes otherwise.
13 MINS
Silva delivers a cross into the box, but it fails to find a City head. The Sunderland defence managed to deal with that set piece with relative ease.
16 MINS
Clichy intercepts play and charges up the field. He finds Silva, but the 31-year-old's attempted pass goes astray and Sunderland redeem possession.
18 MINS
Januzaj cleverly weaves through a wall of City shirts with some sublime skill. He attempts to thread the ball through to Defoe, but it's collected by Caballero. The attack deflated, but that's encouraging stuff from the youngster.
20 MINS
Defoe rattles the woodwork! It's terrific build up play from Sunderland, with Borini supplying the assisted pass. Defoe turns and goes for goal from distance, but he is denied by the post. I am not sure City were expecting this...
22 MINS
Sane bursts into the Sunderland box with electric pace, but he overhits the final ball and it goes out for a goal kick. He is a nightmare for any defence when he is in this fine form.
25 MINS
Sunderland are starting to hold possession and appear to be settling. When the ball is hit up the field to Januzaj - they look dangerous.
28 MINS
Sunderland are defending in numbers here, which is making it hard for City to find a way through. This tactic is forcing City to pass the ball around on the edge of the box until the Black Cat's can dive in and steal possession. City have completed 156 passes so far, in comparison to Sunderland's 43.
31 MINS
Toure delivers a long ball over the top to put Aguero through on goal, but to the relief of the home fans - the offside flag was raised.
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