Tony Mowbray’s Championship side pulled off a surprise result at the Stadium of Light just over a week ago when they held their in-form Premier League neighbours to a 1-1 draw when Barry Robson’s first half volley for Boro was cancelled out by fit-again Black Cats hitman Fraizer Campbell in the second half.

However, while Boro might have felt they had a great chance to finish the job in front of their own fans this week, circumstances have cruelly gone against the Teessiders over the past 10 days with Mowbray admitting his squad is now “down to the bare bones”.

Robson, fellow midfielder Faris Haroun, goalkeeper Danny Coyne and strike duo Scott McDonald and Marvin Emnes, who all started the original tie, have picked up injuries and look set to miss out to add to the costly absence of influential midfielder Nicky Bailey and striker Bart Ogbeche.

Boro do have first-choice goalkeeper Jason Steele back fit, while Julio Arca is available to face his former club having served a three-match suspension and 19-year-old striker Curtis Main (8/1 First Goalscorer) is set to be handed his first start alongside January signing Lukas Jutkiewicz (15/8 Anytime Goalscorer) in attack.

The form book is not too good for Boro as Saturday’s goalless draw against Crystal Palace was their third successive stalemate in all competitions, while they have not won a league game since the 1-0 Boxing Day home victory against Hull City.

Boro have struggled for Championship wins at home all season as they have drawn eight times at the Riverside, while they have not scored more than one goal on home soil in their last seven outings.

On the other hand Sunderland make the short trip down the A19 from Wearside still brimming with confidence from a magnificent run of form inspired by the arrival of new boss Martin O’Neill in December.

The Northern Irishman has guided the Black Cats to seven Premier League wins in 10 games at the helm, while Saturday’s 1-0 success at Stoke means they have won four of their last five on the road.

O’Neill also has selection problems to contend with as loan signings Wayne Bridge and Sotirios Kyrgiakos are ineligible, while skipper Lee Cattermole’s hamstring injury will again deny him a run out against his former club.

Nicklas Bendtner, Wes Brown, David Vaughan, Matt Kilgallon and Titus Bramble all remain on the sidelines.

However the original tie’s goal hero Campbell (11/2 Last Goalscorer) is set to feature and O’Neill is likely to stick with young winger James McClean (9/4 Anytime Goalscorer), who scored the winner at Stoke and caused plenty of problems for Boro at the Stadium of Light.

In recent meetings at the Riverside, Boro have not beaten their local rivals since a 3-0 win in September 2002, while there have been two draws and a Sunderland victory in the following three fixtures.

The two sides have met four times in the FA Cup over the years with the record standing at two wins apiece.

Following the original tie, we anticipated another close encounter between the two sides with even the prospect of extra times and penalties (23/10 Draw 90 Minutes).

However, while both teams have further depleted squads to select from, we now feel the loss of at least five regular first-team players will leave Boro too short to pull off an upset and fully expect Sunderland to get the job done within 90 minutes.

Prediction: Sunderland Away 90 Minutes @ 21/20
Value Bet: Campbell 1st Goal Sunderland 2-0 Scorecast @ 33/1

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Steve Bruce

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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Sunderland

In the last four weeks, Turner and co have faced Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United and come through those games unbeaten.

Steve Bruce takes his side to Ewood Park on Monday night to face a Blackburn side level on points with them as the sides sit just two points above the relegation places (Sunderland 12/5 to win the game, draw 23/10).

What will be a huge blow to Sunderland could be the loss of leading scorer Darren Bent. The former Tottenham man sustained a groin injury on England duty and is rated as doubtful for the clash. Their £13million Ghanaian signing Asamoah Gyan (15/2 to be first goalscorer) is set to take his place should Bent fail to make it.

Bruce is also buoyed by the return of Kieran Richardson, Anton Ferdinand and John Mensah, while Danny Wellbeck is available after being ineligible to play against parent club Manchester United in the last game.

Turner knows many Sunderland fans are looking for the side to step up and improve on their results from last season and finish in the Premier League top ten, but the defender is taking nothing for granted with more tough games against Aston Villa and local rivals Newcastle looming on the horizon.

“We have had a good start this year and we just want it to carry on,” said the former Hull defender.

“But we have got a tough game on Monday night and that is what we are concentrating on.

“We know it is going to be a huge contrast to Manchester United and Liverpool in the way Blackburn play, so we know we are going to have to be prepared and roll our sleeves up and be ready for what they throw at us.

“Every team in the league plays with a different style and it is about dealing with whatever is thrown at you.

“We will try to stamp our play on the game and concentrate on that, but we know we are going to have to deal with balls into the box and throw our bodies on the line to keep a clean sheet.”

Blackburn (6/1 to win the game 1-0) manager Sam Allardyce has injury concerns over captain Ryan Nelsen, who is struggling with a thigh problem, while David Dunn is likely to play some part after recovering from a hamstring sprain.

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Steve Bruce

The Black Cats (9/1 – to be relegated in 2010-11) have suffered a disappointing start to the season, with just one point from their opening two matches.

Having been two-goals up on the opening day, they allowed Birmingham to take a point at the Stadium of Light before losing 1-0 at newly-promoted West Brom last weekend.

The goals they scored against Birmingham came from a Darren Bent (18/1 – Top Premier League Goalscorer) penalty and an own goal and then a blank sheet at the Hawthorns, highlighting further the need for fresh attacking blood.

Bruce surprised many by allowing Kenwyne Jones to join Premier League rivals Stoke earlier in the summer for £8million and is now looking to bring in a last-minute solution.

Despite signing Danny Welbeck on loan from Manchester United, the Black Cats boss admits further reinforcements are needed before August 31.

Bruce told the Daily Star: “It’s absolutely paramount that I replace Kenwyne Jones. I would not want to get to the end of the window without another striker here.

“We’ve got a couple of young lads in Danny Welbeck and Martyn Waghorn who will play their part, but they are young boys.”

Bruce claims to have “one or two irons in the fire” regarding potential new arrivals, but also stated that do deal is “imminent”.

Sunderland (Carling Cup 90 Mins Betting – Sunderland 4/1, Draw 16/5, Colchester 6/1)  have been linked with the likes of Peter Crouch and Roque Santa Cruz this summer, but it looks like Bruce could look abroad for the solution.

The former Wigan boss is believed to be targeting Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan, who impressed many onlookers during the World Cup.

The 24-year-old currently plays his football in France with Rennes and is likely to cost Sunderland in the region of £12million.

Things don’t get any easier for Bruce’s men, as they seek their first league win of the 2010-11 campaign, with Manchester City the visitors to the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

Bruce has been boosted by the news though that Andy Reid and Anton Ferdinand could be fit to return this weekend, following a spell on the sidelines with hamstring problems.

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The Black Cats now have one fit goalkeeper on their books – new boy Simon Mignolet - who has never played in the Premier League.

First-choice keeper Craig Gordon has been ruled out of the first two months of the season with a broken arm, but Bruce has insisted he will not renege on allowing Marton Fulop to join Ipswich.

Bruce wanted to bolster his squad by signing James, who had rejected new terms at Portsmouth but the England goalkeeper chose to join Championship outfit Bristol City as it was nearer to his home in the South West.

To make matters worse, the only other goalkeeper on the books – Trevor Carson – suffered a shoulder injury on the eve of Sunderland’s weekend friendly against Leicester.

Bruce had to draft in youth-team stopper Ben Wilson to sit on the bench at the Walkers Stadium.

The Sunderland boss (Sunderland 125/1 to be top Northern club) admitted that going into the new campaign with just Mignolet and Carson available was a “gamble” he was uncomfortable with – and now Carson’s injury means he will have to explore the possibility of signing another keeper on loan.

“Craig Gordon is out for at least another six to eight weeks, Marton Fulop is on the cusp of joining Ipswich – I’m not going to stop that one – and Trevor Carson got injured on Friday,” Bruce told the Newcastle Chronicle.

“That leaves you gambling, and in the Premier League I’m not really one for gambling. We need to make sure we are all right.

“We have got two outstanding young goalkeepers in Trevor and Simon Mignolet; that’s why I have let Fulop go. He made his intentions clear and I can understand.

“But we didn’t envisage the problem that Gordon’s had. It knocked us sideways.

“We will see how Trevor is but we may look to bring a keeper on loan. We’ll see what’s out there.”

Mignolet impressed against Leicester, making a string of saves, but he is unproven at Premier League level and it would be asking a lot to throw him in at the deep end.

But Bruce said: “You could see why we’ve brought him in. He has presence and made some good saves.

“But for Simon it was terrific. He has shown in pre-season we have a top, top young keeper.”

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