Sunderland know they have a brilliant opportunity to reach the Fourth Round of the FA Cup when they head to Shrewsbury Town this weekend. It's the first ever meeting between the two sides in the FA Cup, with the Black Cats winning the only ever previous cup game 1-0 back in the League Cup in 2016.
However, the Shrews are unbeaten at home against Sunderland in their last three games, winning two and drawing one back in League One. Red and white supporters need no reminding how dismal their previous FA Cup endeavours have been, being dumped out of the competition by lower league opposition in their last two seasons, a third would make it their worst run in the competition since 1967-1970 where they were dumped out by lower league sides in three consecutive seasons.
Tony Mowbray's side have had a full week to recover from their draw against Blackpool on New Year's Day, but he could still make a number of changes in order to give fringe players the opportunity to impress. The Black Cats have back-to-back home games against Swansea City and Middlesbrough to think about.
