Sunderland v West Brom preview: Baggies can travel with away day confidence

Carlos Corberan's men put their impressive away record in the Championship to the test against one of the division's high-flyers - and certainly the surprise package of the second tier so far.

The Baggies have only been beaten once in eight trips on the road this term, at Sheffield Wednesday in late September which sparked a winless run.

They have chalked up four wins away from The Hawthorns and share an eye-catching return of 15 points with Burnley, Sheffield United and tonight's hosts Sunderland, who are all above Corberan's men in the table.

Likewise only Middlesbrough, who scored six at Oxford over the weekend, have more goals than the Baggies' 14 away from home this term.

It is roles-reversed to the form Albion have had generally under Corberan, where previously the record at The Hawthorns has been strong and wins have been harder to come by on the road.

Sunderland, under summer head coach appointment Regis Le Bris, slipped to second behind Leeds over the weekend after a fourth draw on the spin. The Black Cats were pegged back in stoppage time by Millwall at The Den on Saturday.

Corberan has previously talked up surprise element Sunderland, though draws against QPR, Preston, Coventry and Millwall may provide optimism the hosts are there to be got at.

"They are in an excellent momentum. I think their draw on Saturday, and the draw on Friday between Plymouth and Watford, shows the competition is very, very tight," Corberan said.

"Middlesbrough is a team that is making a difference in the last two games, but it has been difficult to create results, I cannot insist more than there is no difference between the squads.

"We are all in a very equal level. It makes the competition amazing, it makes it a massive challenge and effort to put in to win the game.

"At the same time it is not impossible to win games, but every game is very demanding."

French boss Le Bris, 48, was appointed from French club Lorient, where he spent two years. Sunderland were under the watch of caretaker Mike Dodds, who stepped in after Michael Beale was dismissed in February.

 A subplot of tonight's 8pm kick-off is a return to Wearside for Albion top goalscorer Josh Maja, who scored 17 goals for Sunderland between 2016 and 2019.

Maja's first Albion start last season came in Sunderland in December. He had recovered from an ankle injury but spent just 35 minutes on the pitch at the Stadium of Light before being scythed down by Dan Ballard. Maja's ankle required surgery and effectively ended the frontman's season.

Winger Grady Diangana is unlikely to be involved at the Stadium of Light, having underwent a scan on a calf injury yesterday.

The DR Congo international felty the discomfort in training on Friday and sat out of the draw against Norwich with Corberan not willing to take the risk on a potential muscle issue.

Right-back Darnell Furlong is missing with a one-game ban, leaving the head coach scratching his head over a suitable replacement.

Asked if Albion can hit the road full of confidence from their strong away record, the boss replied: "Yes, it can be used to give confidence, but I believe more in what we are able to do on the pitch, the selection we have, the type of opponent and what they do, do they work well with our squad possibilities? But now I am thinking more in the Furlong situation than our away momentum!"