Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray admitted his side are in “good spirits” ahead of the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final at Luton.
The Black Cats take a slender advantage into the game after securing a 2-1 win at the Stadium of Light in the first leg on Saturday.
Luton had gone ahead in the 11th minute through Elijah Adebayo’s close-range strike, but Amad Diallo curled in a stunning equaliser before Trai Hume headed them in front after the break.
“I think the team are in good spirits. I’ve said all season, we believe we can compete against anybody in the league,” Mowbray told a pre-match press conference.
“This game is against a team who finished 11 points in front of us, finished third in the league, a fantastic season Luton have had, they’ve been growing their club for the last three or four years.
“They’ve got an experienced group of players, very together, and you can feel that. I said at the last press conference, you feel their comradeship.
“I think we did amazing to come out on top in the first game and I’m not anticipating too much difference second game. It’s a tighter environment of course, if anything they might double down on what they do and how they play and we have to try and do the same.”
Sunderland will be aiming to build on their lead at Kenilworth Road on Tuesday night and Mowbray urged his side to “enjoy the challenge” of playing against the Hatters.
He added: “Obviously (we’ve) been there this season, it’s a tight ground, tight dressing room, tight tunnel, it feels a tighter pitch than the Stadium of Light.
“It’s a totally different challenge for us but one that we should look forward to and go with some confidence and enjoy the challenge of trying to play against a team that are very athletic, very physical.
“If they get their game plan right, they could give us lots of problems, of course, but we have to concentrate on what we do well and see if we can give them problems.”
There are more injury concerns for an already stretched Sunderland side, with Mowbray admitting he is unsure whether Alex Pritchard and Patrick Roberts will be involved.
Both players were withdrawn in the final 10 minutes of the first leg, but Mowbray confirmed that Aji Alese could be involved following his return to training.
“Pritchard and Roberts are touch and go, I’d suggest,” the Sunderland boss said. “They might both make it, they both might not make it, one might make it. I sit here today not really knowing.
“Alese trained today, which is good. I discussed with him maybe (being) on the bench.
“A 6ft 3ins kid who can run all day up and down, whether we get him on the pitch if they’re chasing a goal or putting it in our box, it will be good to have someone over the height of six foot in there to try and head it out.
“We’re not too far away from what we were the other day.”
Neymar should have won five Ballons d'Or, claims Buffon
Neymar should have won the Ballon d'Or five times, so says Gianluigi Buffon.
Italy great Buffon played alongside Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain for a season in 2018-19.
Neymar joined PSG in a world-record transfer from Barcelona in 2017, but was unable to drive the French club to their maiden Champions League trophy.
He left in 2023 to join Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, but has hardly featured for the Asian giants. He is back on the sidelines due to a hamstring issue, having only just returned from a year-long lay-off after sustaining an anterior crucial ligament (ACL) injury.
Neymar was tipped for greatness when he moved to Europe from Santos, but despite a glittering career, especially at Barcelona, he never has managed to win the Ballon d'Or.
And that is something that upsets his former club-mate Buffon.
"It's hard to pick a rival," Buffon told Corriere della Sera
"I've played against three generations: Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta… Choose one? Neymar.
"For the player he is and the person he is, he should have won five Ballons d'Or."
Even at PSG, Neymar was often overshadowed by Kylian Mbappe.
When Messi joined that deadly duo in 2021, meanwhile, the trio could not have the impact on the European stage that PSG's Qatari owners would have wished for.
Palestine hold South Korea as Japan down China in World Cup qualifying
Son Heung-min scored but South Korea were held to a 1-1 draw by Palestine in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.
Tottenham forward Son netted in the 16th minute at Amman International Stadium in Jordan.
That came four minutes after Palestine had taken the lead through Zeid Qunbar.
Yet South Korea could not build on that momentum. Despite finishing with 15 shots, they accumulated only 0.84 expected goals (xG).
South Korea, who are six points clear in qualification Group B, had five shots on target, with Son having four of them, as Palestine held on for a memorable result.
In Group C, Japan consolidated their lead with a 3-1 defeat of China in Xiamen.
Koki Ogawa scored twice, opening the scoring and netting Japan's third.
Ko Itakura put Japan 2-0 up on the stroke of half-time, with Lin Liangming pulling one back for China early in the second half.
The match was briefly disrupted as some spectators ran onto the pitch.
Doncic backs Mbappe to turn fortunes around at Real Madrid
NBA superstar Luka Doncic has backed Kylian Mbappe to "figure it out" after his underwhelming start to life at Real Madrid.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 16 games for Madrid in all competitions since joining as a free agent following the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.
He has gone four matches without a goal – a run that includes losses to Barcelona and Milan – and has been left out of France's latest squad.
However, Dallas Mavericks guard Doncic – a Real Madrid supporter due to his previous ties with the sports club – can see Mbappe turning things around.
"Obviously [their season] could be better," Doncic told Managing Madrid after the Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
"But when you get a guy like Mbappe, it takes some time to get used to it. We'll figure it out."
Mbappe has scored six goals in 11 LaLiga appearances for Madrid but has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04.
The forward is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes for PSG in his last of seven seasons in Paris.
Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 last time out in the league to return to winning ways but still trail leaders Barcelona by six points.
Asked about his connections with Madrid, former Los Blancos basketball player Doncic said: "I follow Real Madrid every time.
"I grew up there. They taught me everything, so it's a part of my life. You can call it a secondary home.
"I learned a lot of stuff there and, especially, they gave me a way to be here right now [in Dallas]. I always appreciate that 100%."
Madrid return to action after the international break with a trip to Leganes on Sunday.
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