Sunderland must be ready to withstand Birmingham City's physical threat when the Midlanders visit Wearside this weekend, says Tony Mowbray. The Black Cats take on John Eustace's side tomorrow in a game which could see Mowbray's men complete a league double against the Blues after winning 2-1 at St Andrew's in November, in their final fixture before the World Cup break.
Sunderlan sit tenth in the table but still have an outside chance of making the play-offs, with just four points between themselves and the top six. Birmingham are 17th and eight points clear of the relegation zone, which should be a big enough buffer for them to avoid being dragged into the mire given that several teams would have to put together a late-season run of form to catch them.
Birmingham arrive on the back of a four-game unbeaten run which has seen them beat QPR and Blackburn Rovers, and draw their last two outings against Reading and Stoke City. "They'll present a physical challenge, first and foremost," Mowbray said of Birmingham.
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"They've got Lukas Jutkiewicz playing up front who I signed for Middlesbrough many years ago, a fantastic lad, a fantastic human being, and a big physical presence. They have some young, athletic, players - [George] Hall has been playing, who is super-fast.
"I remember in the game down at Birmingham he ran past Jack Clarke like he was standing still, and I thought 'how fast was that kid!' They have their loan players, they have [Brighton's] Reda Khadra who I had at Blackburn last season and he is lightning fast, powerful, and can score a goal.
"So they have some speed and some threats, which is why they are on a four-game unbeaten run and doing alright. They'll come here and believe they have a chance of getting another positive result, so we have to try and make life difficult for them."
For their part, Sunderland have struggled to win games at home this season with just six victories from 20 league fixtures so far. They suffered a late blow in their last home outing when Hull City converted an injury-time penalty to salvage a 4-4 draw.
And that meant they are currently on a five-game winless streak on home soil, with their last win at the Stadium of Light coming on February 11 against Reading.
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