That point is huge if Newcastle beats Norwich next week.
Still have them (A), Swansea (H), Palace (H), and Villa (A) to play.
Also have Tottenham and I hope they are locked in position come the final day and Manchester City...
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh
On today's performance, I can't see either side staying up. Two poor teams cancelling each other out. A decent team would have taken one of those chances Sunderland had in the first half and/or picked Newcastle off in the second half as they pushed men forward. Meanwhile, a decent side would have taken full advantage of Sunderland retreating well into their own half in the second half and got the win.
Really, Allardyce has himself to blame for this. After 65 minutes, he'd basically put in place the ideal gameplan, other than us burying one more chance. But at that stage, it was clear that Wjinaldum and De Jong were playing more advanced roles and starting to influence the game more and more and Kirchhoff and Rodwell were beginning to tire. There was an obvious option for that situation: Cattermole. It was absolutely glaring. Instead, he didn't come on until after the goal.
Similarly, when Khazri started to struggle, there was an obvious option: Larsson. He covers a lot of ground, has a decent passing range making him capable of springing counter attacks and can deliver a good set piece if you get a free kick in a decent position. Instead, Allardyce reaches for N'Doye. Really, the writing should have been on the wall with him when he came "highly recommended from Steve Bruce." I think he's trying to justify the signing, but it's not working at all. He isn't a good striker, let alone a winger. No doubt at all in my mind that Larsson and Khazri would have defended the goal a lot better than he did. If you do feel that you need a more physical presence up front, why not take the clearly fading Defoe off instead and play N'Doye in his actual position? The mind boggles.
Allardyce needs to sort this out really. His poor in-game decision making has cost us in three games in a row.
As for Newcastle, they certainly had a whole lot more spirit than any other side we've faced in the Derby in recent times, but for me largely lacked a cutting edge. Shelvey was too deep to really be effective (or dangerous, wasn't he brought in to bring some goals from midfield?!) and Benitez seemed reliant on his centre halves to carry and pass the ball effectively to begin attacks, which I don't think either was particularly good at. I'm not sure what's happened to Perez, who has always struck me as a good little player. That said, if Newcastle can get the ball to Wjinaldum in the final third more often, good things will happen. That's something Benitez has to figure out though.
I do think it will be very tight and I'm hoping Sunderland's extra experience in this sort of scenario will play to our advantage, but I wouldn't at all be surprised to see both teams drop.