[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Punished harshly at the death last week for gambling on the three points, back-to-back road trips are Albion's opportunity to bounce back in the coming days. Tomorrow takes us to Wearside, where both sides will be looking to bring back the days of Nokia phones and emo kids by scoring historic consecutives: for Sunderland, three points would mean two wins on the trot against us for the first time since 2008, while an Albion victory would make it back-to-back wins at the Stadium of Light for the first time since 2004. We have, alas, been alternating between wins and defeats away from home since September, and despite a form blip of just one victory in the last five, Sunderland are no mugs; for that reason, Rotherham on Tuesday could prove the happier hunting ground of the two.

The Millers are one from bottom and winless since late October, leaving them seven points adrift of safety. Even given Albion's timeless propensity to go arse over tit against teams in the relegation zone, you feel Rotherham's best chance is to set up shop and hit on the break; a tactic which earned them a point at St Andrew's last Saturday and another at Elland Road the week before, sandwiched between spankings from Watford and Hull. We've proved we have the quality to hurt teams on the counter ourselves, but can we break them down? Set-pieces could be crucial come Tuesday night.

Success breeds expectation, and with the way we've acquitted ourselves against the league's top sides in recent weeks it's hard not to feel like one win from these fixtures is the minimum to look for. Whether or not that's fatal hubris in a division that dishes up twists and turns every Saturday remains to be seen: all the same, four points here would put the wind right back in our sails.