Lee Dixon: Revitalised Sunderland to edge a tight one against Swansea

Martin O'Neill has his Black Cats winning games currently

Martin O'Neill has Sunderland in fine fettle and Lee Dixon is backing them to sneak past a Swansea side whose game may have dropped a level after recent highs...

Sunderland are undergoing a remarkable turnaround under Martin O'Neill and I fancy their good form will continue at the expense of Swansea on Tuesday night. 

The visitors are having an absolutely stonking year under Michael Laudrup but I just sense that a big couple of weeks will take its toll and the Black Cats can capitalise on that. 

Opta tell us that Sunderland have won five of their last eight Premier League games, having only triumphed in four of the previous 29. That's good form and it could just be that Martin O'Neill has his team primed for a strong finish to the season at the Stadium of Light. 

O'Neill had been touted as a candidate for the managerial position at the big clubs after good spells at Leicester, Celtic and Aston Villa, but his chance has probably gone now. The northern Irishman can be an inspirationaI figure - he is unique, a bit off the wall, but he has shown the midas touch throughout his career. I certainly think he can do good things at Sunderland and I wouldn't be backing against a good finish to the season for the Wearsiders.

Whatever happens over the closing months, this will go down as a phenomenal year for Swansea and it's no surprise to see them trading as short as 3.1511/5 for the win. 

Four victories and three draws from 11 games shows the Swans are no pushover on the road and their miserly defence has conceded just nine times during that run. Unfortunately, the attack doesn't exactly fire away from home with just 12 goals registered and I suspect this will be a low-scoring match. 

The Betfair market fancies under 2.5 goals ahead of overs but not quite as much as I expected and I'm happy to back it at 1.865/6.

So, neither team is likely to score a hatful then, and with two good defences on show it would be no surprise were this to be level at halftime. I fancy Sunderland to nick it in the second half, but instead of the straightforward Sunderland win I will play bigger odds with a back of halftime/Sunderland at 6.411/2. 

Swansea have wowed us in the opening half of the season, perhaps Sunderland will shine in the final few months. 

Recommended Bets 
Back under 2.5 goals @ 1.865/6 
Back draw/Sunderland HT/FT @ 6.411/2