Steve Bruce returns to his former club on Monday as he takes his Sunderland side to Norwich City (Norwich 6/4, draw 12/5, Sunderland 15/8 – Match Odds).
The Black Cats were back to their best in their 4-0 thrashing of Stoke last weekend, and should be backed to build on that victory with a win in East Anglia.
With no injury concerns, Bruce is likely to name the same 11 that put four past the Potters in an impressive performance. After a slow start to the campaign, the Black Cats are now up and running and have more than enough quality to see off Paul Lambert’s outfit.
Bruce has admitted it will be business as usual once the whistle goes at Carrow Road, despite confessing he still has a soft spot for his former side.
The Canaries have made a solid start since their promotion from the Championship last season. However, they can’t match the quality in the Sunderland squad and may struggle to handle the visitors this time around.
The home side have yet to win at Carrow Road this season; their latest effort was a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Roy Hodgson’s West Brom.
Goals could be a problem for Lambert’s men in their bid to retain their Premier League status. They lack a goalscorer who is going to go close to scoring in the region of 15 goals this season.
Despite the loss of star striker Asamoah Gyan, Bruce’s side certainly don’t lack goals, as they showed last Sunday at the Stadium of Light.
Nicklas Bendtner was brought into the club on a loan move from Arsenal and has a point to prove, not just to Arsene Wenger, but to the rest of the Premier League. The Danish striker is more than capable of scoring goals at this level but just needs a decent run of games, which is something he is going to get at his latest club. Bendtner is a good bet at 6/1 to score the first goal of the game and a small bet may be worth placing on him to score a hat-trick at 40/1.
The Black Cats are going to be full of confidence as they make the trip to Norfolk. It would be no surprise if they continue from where they left off last weekend and add to their goals scored column with a further three on Monday evening. Take the 22/1 offered on Sunderland winning the game 3-1, which would give Bruce a happy return to his former home.
The last time the former Norwich defender took his side to Carrow Road, Sunderland ran out 4-1 winners in the Carling Cup in 2009. It has been a sharp rise through the leagues since then for the Canaries, who secured consecutive promotions to reach the Premier League. However, they may just get a taste of what the best league in the world is all about on Monday evening.
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