Norwich City can take a huge step to securing their Premier League status when they host 18th place Sunderland at Carrow Road in the early kick-off.
In truth the Canaries are the only team that the Black Cats are focussed on catching, as the teams above Alex Neil’s team look to have amassed enough points to survive for another campaign in the top-flight.
Norwich can stretch their lead over the side from the north east to seven points, which will be a difficult deficit to recover with so few games remaining in the league campaign.
The one saving grace for Sam Allardyce’s team could be that they have a game in-hand on the side from Norfolk. However, the Black Cats fixture list does not look like a kind one, as they face the likes of Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea in the remaining games.
Sunderland simply have to win the game at Carrow Road to have any chance of surviving the drop. They have pulled-off great escapes in recent years from relegation. However, they have reached the stage of the campaign where they have to start to win games in order to pull-off another desperate climb to freedom.
The Black Cats will head to Norfolk on a run of poor form, but Norwich’s home form is not much better. Saturday’s clash could be a pivotal one in the Premier League fight for survival and whoever wins will most likely have the momentum to stay in the English top-flight.