Squad sheets: Sunderland v Arsenal

As a boyhood Arsenal fan Darren Bent would relish scoring against Arsène Wenger's side tomorrow. Bent, though, must hope Steve Bruce deploys him in attack alongside Asamoah Gyan rather than in the midfield role he occupied at Wigan last Saturday. Another sub-plot will involve the likely midfield duel between young English prospects, Arsenal's Jack Wilshere and Sunderland's Jordan Henderson. Wenger's men demolished Braga in midweek but Arsenal have a habit of losing fluency on Wearside and were defeated 1-0 in this fixture last season. Louise Taylor Venue Stadium of Light Tickets £29-£34 (0871 911 1973) Last season Sunderland 1 Arsenal 0 Referee P Dowd This season's matches 4 Y 19, R 1, 5.00 cards per game Odds Sunderland 9-2 Arsenal 7-10 Draw 11-4 Sunderland Subs from Carson, Bardsley, Da Silva, Mensah, McCartney, Reid, Zenden, Colback, Welbeck, Angeleri, Healy Doubtful Mensah (calf) Injured Gordon (broken arm, Oct), Turner (ankle, Oct), Melyer (knee, March), Campbell (knee, March) Suspended Cattermole (first of two) Form guide DWLD Disciplinary record Y7 R2 Leading scorer Bent 2 Arsenal Subs from Fabianski, Mannone, Clichy, Rosicky, Eboué, Denilson, Vela, Djourou, Lansbury, Em-Thomas Doubtful None Injured Diaby (ankle, 25 Sep), Vermaelen (achilles, 25 Sep), Bendtner (groin, Oct), Van Persie (ankle, Oct), Walcott (ankle, Oct), Ramsey (leg, Nov), Frimpong (knee, Aug) Suspended None Form guide WWWD Disciplinary record Y5 R1 Leading scorer Walcott 4 Match pointers • Sunderland have lost one of their last 12 league home games • Arsenal have won two of their last nine league games in the north-east • There have been six goals scored in the last five league meetings between Arsenal and Sunderland • Ten of Marouane Chamakh's last 11 goals in the league (eight in Ligue 1 & two in the Premier League) have been scored with his head • Sunderland have mustered eight shots on target so far, fewer than any other team in the division