It's a massive fixture for us. Defeat won't put us down but victory would go a long way to keeping us up. The fact that they are 3 points behind with 2 games in hand would mean that a victory for either side would immediately make them huge favourites to finish above the other. With Fulham looking doomed and Cardiff having a tough match away to Everton things could look very rosy should we nick the points.

As an aside, so far this season something 0.9 points per game has been enough to stay out of the relegation zone which would work out at around 35 points over entire season. Win at Sunderland and we're 5 points short of that.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold...

You have to put out away form in context as most of our away games have been against opposition in the top half.

Not an excuse it's a fact. Palace were also the first team to win at Hull a team who just brushed Sunderland aside three nil. Also I don't think pulis has lost two games in succession since taking over. We must believe we can win this. If we win on Saturday we will be on 30 points with nine games left (the last game away at Fulham!). We so have a superior goals against by comparison to Fulham and Cardiff. Most palace fans given the current position at the start of
The season would have jumped for
Joy. We need to believe!!!

For those who seem to have an issue with understanding where negative thoughts are coming from....

Sunderland were, shortly after us, an odds on cert to be relegated at seasons end. Since then they have had concerted cup runs and solid performances in the league.

The seem to have gelled under Poyet and play with some meaning and passion and look like they not only want to but know how to win.

On that basis, they will pull themselves out of the mire leaving fulham and possibly Cardiff along with one other.

We have yet again managed to miss the golden oportunities of pulling the points in when we need to and leave ourselves with the hard job, picking points off Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool etc - if we cant do this against Norwich and southampton, how in gods name do we roll over the big guns??

Clinton is Clinton. I have known him for a long time, I know his mother... Simon Jordan

Sunderland is only a winnable game if we actually go out to actively win it..

As far as the rules go, it's a website not a democracy - Hambo 3/6/2014

It'll be a tough fight of a game, and steely nerves. The onis is on Sunderland to get at us. We can maybe afford to draw, they need to win to close the gap on us and avoid reliance on points from their games in hand.

I don't think Pulis will go 'all out to win', but we'll approch the game with a must not lose mentality and set up, and seek to exploit the pressure on Sunderland to win.

Must win game for them really, a must not lose for us.

"One Nation Under God, has turned into One Nation Under the Influence of One Drug"
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