Rovers are looking to make it back to back wins in Sky Bet League One when they take on Sunderland on Sunday.
Darren Moore’s side beat Peterborough United 3-0 on Boxing Day, with a double from Kieran Sadlier and a strike from Ben Whiteman securing all three points.
The Black Cats head into the game on the back of a goalless draw with relegation threatened Bolton Wanderers.
Sunderland’s recent form
Sunderland are without a win in their past six league fixtures, having last tasted victory against Southend United at the start of November. They then battled to a 1-1 draw against Coventry City, in front of almost 30,000 fans at the Stadium Of Light. Back-to-back defeats followed as they went down to Burton Albion and Gillingham in Sky Bet League One.
Goals have been hard to come by in recent weeks but they have managed to avoid defeat in their past two outings, following up a 1-1 draw with Blackpool with the stalemate against Bolton on Boxing Day.
Who’s the gaffer?
The experienced Phil Parkinson took over as Sunderland manager in October after the departure of Jack Ross. The 52-year-old has several promotions on his CV, after having success with the likes of Colchester United, Bradford City and Bolton, with the hope that he can repeat that with his new club.
Ones to watch
Jordan Willis
The 25-year-old defender joined Sunderland in the summer after leaving fellow Sky Bet League One side Coventry City. Willis came through the ranks at the Sky Blues and went on to captain the club on their way to winning the EFL Trophy in 2017, before helping them to win promotion to the third tier a year later – with both victories coming at Wembley. His addition to the Black Cats’ back-line was a shrewd one by former manager Jack Ross.
Max Power
The tough tackling midfielder joined Sunderland initially on loan from Wigan Athletic at the start of the 2018/19 campaign. After coming through the system at Tranmere Rovers, Power made his name with plenty of goals from distance in the lower leagues, before Wigan secured his services in 2015. He played more than 140 times for the Latics, winning the Sky Bet League One title twice during his time at the DW Stadium.
Charlie Wyke
Having started his career with Middlesbrough, Wyke made his name in the EFL in an 18-month stint at Carlisle United where he scored 39 goals in 89 matches before a move to Bradford City. The front-man worked under current manager Phil Parkinson during his time at Valley Parade, and continued his scoring form which earned him the move to Sunderland last summer.
Who’s the ref?
Carl Boyeson will be the man in charge when Rovers take on Sunderland, replacing the original referee Darren Drysdale.
Last time out
Sunderland ran out 2-0 winners the last time the two sides met on Good Friday. First-half goals from Lewis Morgan and Charlie Wyke did the damage to secure a comfortable victory for the Black Cats.