Sunderland could hold a key advantage over Norwich City ahead of Saturday's clash at the Stadium of Light. The Black Cats will be looking to continue their impressive start to life back in the Championship against the recently-relegated side. Sunderland will be going into the tie feeling fresh having had a free week leading up to the game.
On the other hand, Norwich will be going into the game having played in the Carabao Cup against Premier League outfit AFC Bournemouth on Tuesday evening. The Canaries were knocked out on penalties after the game finished 2-2 in normal time.
Sunderland were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Sheffield Wednesday in round one and were one of the few Championship sides to not have a game this midweek.
Logic suggests that Sunderland will be fresher on Saturday than the Canaries, but Norwich did make 10 changes for the Carabao Cup tie from the team that beat Millwall in the league just a few days earlier. Only Kenny McLean kept his place, meaning star players such as Tim Krul, Marcelino Nunez and Josh Sargent received a rest and will be fresh heading into Saturday's game.
Sunderland face Norwich at the Stadium of Light on Saturday at 12:30pm, with the game televised on Sky Sports Football.
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