Sunderland may have to settle for draw on trip to Potteries

FA Cup
BT Sport 1, 2.30pm Sunday

Sunderland were by far the biggest club in the FA Cup first-round draw but they may need two attempts to get past Sky Bet League Two opponents Port Vale, who could give them a stern test in the Potteries.

Winning promotion is Sunderland's main priority this season and they are on course, having accumulated 35 points from 16 games in Sky Bet League One.

Jack Ross's side are on a six-match winning streak but they are being tested and have lost the shot count in all of their last five league encounters.

Sunderland have been successful by being efficient in both boxes.

However, it could be a struggle for them to carve out clear-cut chances against Vale, who have worked hard to tighten up since losing 6-2 at home to Lincoln last month.

Vale responded by chalking up four successive clean sheets and extended their unbeaten run to five games last Saturday when Tom Pope's 89th-minute goal rescued a 2-2 draw at home to Notts County.

They probably rely too much on centre-forward Pope, who has scored seven of their 17 league goals this season, but the squad's strength has been boosted this week with the returns of left-back Cristian Montano and midfielder Manny Oyeleke from injuries.

Sunderland are also looking stronger with key midfielder Max Power available after a four-match ban but neither manager will want to tinker too much, given their recent results.

Both teams have developed a knack of being difficult to beat and there is every chance they will cancel each other out, paving the way for a replay at the Stadium of Light.

Recommendation
Draw
1pt 29-10 Hills

Bet on this match at Soccerbase.com

Team news
Port Vale
Cristian Montano (knee) and Manny Oyeleke (muscle strain) are back in contention but James Gibbons (illness) is ruled out.

Sunderland
Max Power is available after a four-game ban. Duncan Watmore lacks match fitness and Charlie Wyke and Lee Cattermole are still unavailable.

Key stat
Port Vale have kept clean sheets in five of their last seven matches.

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