Sunderland AFC midfielder Wahbi Khazri has said that the Black Cats must replicate their form from the 2-1 win over Manchester United to break away from the Premier League’s bottom three.

Frustrating March

The January signing from Bordeaux was crucial in February’s win over Louis Van Gaal’s side as he opened the scoring before setting up Lamine Kone to cancel out Anthony Martial’s equaliser to help claim the three points.

They have been on steady form since then, losing just once in their last five matches but the month of March has proved to be a frustrating one for Sam Allardyce's men.

A potential nine points ended up being just three as they threw away winning positions against Crystal Palace, Southampton and Newcastle United to ultimately draw all three matches, which means they still remain two points from safety.

Wahbi Kazri has settled in on Wearside ahead of the West Brom, Leicester City double-header | Photo: Sunderland Echo
Wahbi Kazri has settled in on Wearside ahead of the West Brom, Leicester City double-header | Photo: Sunderland Echo

Change of fortune

The Black Cats have two big matches after the international break with a Stadium of Light double-header against West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City, and the Tunisian international has said that he is raring to go ahead of the final eight matches of the campaign.

He told safc.com that things are “very good” since his arrival and with Kone arriving around the same time that they found they feet together thanks to the likes of Yann M’Vila and Younes Kaboul who have helped them to settle on Wearside.

Khazri said that he and his Sunderland teammates will need to “ reach that level” from their Manchester United victory every weekend and will have to to “fight hard” to remain in the Premier League. 

He continued saying that the club “dropped a few points” in the last two months but believes that they can “take positives” from the draws especially against Southampton and Newcastle United and if they continue to work hard until the end of the season he believes “there is no doubt” they will survive.

Sunderland AFC will host West Bromwich Albion at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, April 2 with kick-off at 3pm BST.

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.