Sunderland vs Sheffield United

Updates from the Stadium of Light as Tony Mowbray's Black Cats take on the second-placed Blades in tonight's Championship encounter.

The duo missed the [Black Cats'](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/all-about/sunderland-afc) weekend 1-0 win at Norwich City, with on-loan Manchester United forward [Amad](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/all-about/amad-diallo) suffering a hamstring injury in training last week while Pritchard had also picked up a minor knock. And he says he felt the tension surrounding the last home game played its part as ex-Black Cats boss [Alex Neil](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/all-about/alex-neil) returned to Wearside with Stoke City and inflicted a 5-1 defeat on his former employers. Amad has been working with the medical staff but is still not 100 percent, and Mowbray will not risk him against Sheffield United although he is hopeful he will be fit to face the Hatters. [Mowbray](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/all-about/tony-mowbray) says Gelhardt is a different type of player to [Ross Stewart](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/all-about/ross-stewart) - the man he was brought in to partner but has ended up replacing, with the Scot suffering a season-ending Achilles injury - and that has meant he has had to adapt. [Sunderland](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/all-about/sunderland-afc) up to eighth in what is still a tightly-contested promotion race. [Blades](https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/all-about/sheffield-united-fc) have had something of a wobble of late, allowing [Middlesbrough](https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/all-about/middlesbrough-fc) in third to close the gap, and will themselves want to ease any nerves with an away win. [JustGiving page](https://justgiving.com/crowdfunding/johnmacphail) from friends, former teammates, and fans of the clubs he played for, with contributions from Sunderland's former owner Sir Bob Murray, York City Past Players' Association, York City Supporters Trust, and Bristol City Supporters' Club, helping push the total to almost £27,000. "It's easier to try and get results when you don't have that expectation," said Mowbray, whose side takes on second-placed Sheffield United at the Stadium of Light tonight. But while goals have been hard to come by, his all-round game has been good and he provided the assist for [Abdoullah Ba](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/all-about/abdoullah-ba) in Sunday's 1-0 win at Norwich City, although just a couple of minutes later Gelhardt then failed to convert a gilt-edged chance himself. Tony Mowbray wants Sunderland to avoid the burden of expectation in the Championship run-in - insisting his young players perform better when they are 'carefree'. His family launched a campaign in October to raise £30,000 towards the cost of the adaptations. "Just because he is on loan from Leeds United it doesn't mean he has to play, it's his performance level that is getting him in the team."