Fourth-placed Sunderland will aim for a second consecutive victory when they host Portsmouth for a Championship clash this Sunday.
The Black Cats picked up a 2-1 victory against Sheffield United last time out. With 47 points from 25 matches, Le Bris’ side is sitting at fourth at the Champions League leaderboard.
Meanwhile, Pompey ended their two-match losing streak with a 4-0 dominant win against Swansea City at Fratton Park. With 23 points from 23 matches, Portsmouth holds the 21st position in the league standings.
The Sporting News looks at the key details ahead of this game, including how to watch the match, kickoff times and the latest lineup news.
Sunderland vs. Portsmouth live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this EFL Championship match in the U.S.:
This game is not available for live TV broadcast in the United States. Streaming options for this game are available on Paramount+, which is currently offering a FREE trial to new members.
What time does Sunderland vs. Portsmouth kick off?
This EFL Championship clash takes place at Stadium of Light in Sunderland, United Kingdom and kicks off on Sunday, January 5 at 3:00 p.m. local time.
Here’s how that time translates across the U.S.:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| Eastern Time | Sun, Jan. 5 | 10:00 a.m. |
| Central Time | Sun, Jan. 5 | 9:00 a.m. |
| Mountain Time | Sun, Jan. 5 | 8:00 a.m. |
| Pacific Time | Sun, Jan. 5 | 7:00 a.m. |
Sunderland vs. Portsmouth lineups, team news
Daniel Ballard, who is recovering from a muscle injury, will miss the upcoming match against Portsmouth as confirmed by Le Bris. This will be the third game when Sunderland will be playing without their center-back player.
The hosts will also miss Chris Rigg (ankle), Alan Browne (broken leg), Salis Abdul Samed, Ahmed Abdullahi (leg), Jensen Seelt (injured), Niall Huggins (injured), Romaine Mundle (hamstring), Ian Poveda (muscle), and Tommy Watson (knee), who all remain sidelined due to their respective injuries.
Le Bris could recall English Dennis Cirkin to feature in the starting lineup alongside Trai Hume, Chris Mepham, and Luke O’Nien in the back four.
Sunderland predicted XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): Patterson (GK) — Hume, Mepham, O’Nien, Cirkin — Neil, Bellingham — Roberts, Mayenda, Aouchiche — Isidor.
Injured: Ballard, Rigg, Browne, Samed, Huggins, Mundle, Poveda, Watson
Suspended: None
Portsmouth will be playing this match without Ibane Bowat (Tendon), Conor Shaughnessy (calf), Regan Poole (hamstring), Mark O’Mahony (Hip), Kusini Yengi (knee), Will Norris (knee) and Harvey Blair who will remain absent from this contest due to their injuries.
Portsmouth predicted XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): Schmid (GK) — Swanson, Pack, Towler, Ogilvie — Potts, Dozzell — Lane, Lang, Murphy — Bishop.
Injured: Bowat, Shaughnessy, Poole, O’Mahony, Yengi, Norris, Blair
Suspended: None
Sunderland vs. Portsmouth Prediction
Pompey’s dreadful away run could see them losing another match. On the other hand, the Black Cats have been really impressive at their home, winning 7 and drawing 4 out of 11 matches they have played.
The unbeaten record of Sunderland is the toughest task for the visiting team to break. We back Sunderland to pick another home victory against Pompey this Sunday.
- Prediction: Sunderland 3-1 Portsmouth
EFL Championship fixture schedule this week
All times ET
Saturday, January 4
- Blackburn Rovers vs. Burnley (7:30 a.m.)
- Stoke City vs. Plymouth (7:30 a.m.)
- Swansea City vs. West Bromwich Albion (7:30 a.m.)
- Bristol City vs. Derby County (10:00 a.m.)
- Hull City vs. Leeds United (10:00 a.m.)
- Middlesbrough vs. Cardiff City (10:00 a.m.)
- Norwich City vs. Coventry City (10:00 a.m.)
- Preston North End vs. Oxford United (10:00 a.m.)
- Sheffield Wednesday vs. Millwall (10:00 a.m.)
- Watford vs. Sheffield United (10:00 a.m.)
Sunday, January 5
- Sunderland vs. Portsmouth (10:00 a.m.)
