Black Cats face the in-form Canaries

Competition: Barclays Premier League

Venue: Carrow Road

Kick-off: Sun 2 Dec, 4pm

Sunderland travel to Norwich on Sunday afternoon with the aim of moving away from the relegation zone.

The Black Cats are just one point ahead of Southampton, who sit in 18th in the Premier League table. However, Martin O'Neill's side will head to Carrow Road without influential captain Lee Cattermole.

The 24-year-old picked up another knee injury in the midweek draw with Queens Park Rangers, and could be out for the next two months as a result. It comes as a massive blow for the club as Cattermole had just recovered from a similar problem.

Another problem for Sunderland is the timing of this fixture considering Norwich's current form. The Canaries are unbeaten in their previous seven League games, and have recorded home victories over both Arsenal and Manchester United in recent weeks.

Speaking ahead of the match, O'Neill was full of praise for his opposite number Chris Hughton. He said: "Chris has come in, has done very, very well. He's an excellent young manager. His record in recent seasons has been very, very good and they've got a bit of solidity about them now.

"They are on a very, very good run at the moment."

TEAM NEWS

Cattermole (knee) is definitely out. Meanwhile defender John O'Shea is carrying a calf problem and could also miss out.

RECENT HEAD-TO-HEAD

Sunderland 3-0 Norwich City - 1 Feb 2012

Norwich City 2-1 Sunderland - 26 Sept 2011