Sunderland boosted by return of key midfielder ahead of Sheffield United clash at Stadium of Light

The Blades head to the Stadium of Light looking to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat at home to Luton Town on Saturday.

Their mood will have been boosted by Tuesday’s night 1-1 draw between Middlesbrough and visitors Stoke City, a result which left Michael Carrick's team three points adrift of the second-placed Blades having played a game more.

Paul Heckingbottom’s players could significantly enhance their hopes of automatic promotion when they use up their game in hand at Sunderland. But they will come up against hosts who snapped a four-game winless streak – including a 5-1 home defeat by Stoke – when they won 1-0 at play-off chasing Norwich City on Sunday.

The Black Cats currently sit 12th in the Championship standings but remain only six points off the top six with 10 games remaining, meaning they have plenty of incentive to further throw the Blades’ push for automatic promotion off course and do their north-east rivals a massive favour in the process.

On Tuesday, Sunderland manager, Mowbray confirmed that midfielder Alex Pritchard was in line to make a return to the squad having missed the trip to Norwich with a minor injury.

But while the former Huddersfield Town star’s return will be a welcome boost for the home side, fellow midfielder Amad Diallo is set to remain on the sidelines as he continues to recover from a hamstring issue. Defender Dennis Cirkin will also sit out, continuing his recovery from head injury with a further scan, while American midfielder Lynden Gooch is in contention after suffering no ill effects from his long-awaited return at Carrow Road.

"Amad still has an awareness and a feeling so I've told him to forget about playing against Sheffield United,” said Mowbray.

"Alex Pritchard was on the grass with the medical department yesterday and out training with us today so he will probably have some involvement. We'll wait and see if he has any reactions tomorrow. Amad will hopefully be available for Saturday."

After hosting the Blades, Sunderland remain at home this weekend when they take on fourth-placed Luton Town, making it a tough, but crucial few days for Mowbray and his team.

"They are second and fourth in the league, so they are not easy challenges,” said Mowbray. “But I feel and I hope that the supporters are with the team and as long as they see that we are trying to give everything in each game.

"We can’t dominate every game, every team, there are so many different ways to play football and every week is a learning curve for our team – when to play long, when to play short, when to pass through teams and when to go over the top of them.”