David Prutton predicts more trouble for Valerien Ismael as Hornets boss when they visit the Stadium of Light this week.
Until this past weekend, the top three in the Championship threatened to create a significant gap between themselves and the rest of the division, but Sunderland are currently only four points behind Preston North End in third place.
The Black Cats’ 3-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Friday night, combined with North End’s 4-0 thrashing of West Bromwich Albion at Deepdale, has narrowed the gap for Tony Mowbray’s side, who have been firing on all cylinders recently – barring a 1-0 loss to Cardiff City over a week ago.
That was a momentary setback, though, as the Wearsiders returned to winning ways a few days ago, but their opponents on Wednesday night, Watford, are failing to find any kind of rhythm.
The Hornets hierarchy changed managers again over the summer, with Valerien Ismael taking over in the hot seat at Vicarage Road, but after nine games of the 2023-24 season, they are in 20th place, with only two wins in the first few weeks of the season.
What does David Prutton think will happen between Sunderland and Watford?
Sky Sports analyst David Prutton, who has played for a number of clubs in his career and oversees the company’s EFL coverage, predicts Sunderland will win again, putting more pressure on Ismael in the Hornets dugout.
“Sunderland could hardly have picked a better game to bounce back from a defeat than heading to Sheffield Wednesday,” Prutton wrote in his Sky Sports predictions column.
“Not to take anything away from Tony Mowbray’s exciting young side, but it was pretty much a training game from the moment they scored.”
“Watford are in trouble. In nine games, he has nine points.
“Rob Edwards only got 10 last season before being fired, and he got 14 out of them.”
“It has only been a few weeks since they were in contract negotiations with Valerien Ismael, but he is under pressure now.”
“He could be under more pressure soon, as I suspect he’ll be leaving the North East with nothing.” 2-0.”
