Bristol City 1 Sunderland 0: Highlights after Tommy Conway penalty gives hosts win at Ashton Gate Stadium

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Sunderland's Championship fixture against Bristol City at Ashton Gate.

The Black Cats have moved back up to sixth in the table following back-to-back wins over West Brom and Leeds under interim boss Mike Dodds.

This is expected to be Dodds' final game in charge, with Sunderland closing in on the appointment of former QPR and Rangers boss Michael Beale.

We'll have all the build-up ahead of today's match, as well as in-game analysis and post-match reaction.

Stick around and refresh the page for live updates.

There's only one place to start, and that's with the head coach situation.

Sunderland are believed to be closing in on the appointment of former QPR and Rangers boss Michael Beale.

Mike Dodds will take charge of today's match against Bristol City and is expected to stay at the club with a significant role in the coaching set up under Beale.

The 43-year-old has been out of work since being sacked by Rangers in October, yet Sunderland are said to have been impressed by his coaching acumen and record in player development.

Beale could be in the stands for today's match and is likely to be in charge for next weekend's home match against Coventry.

Sunderland still have sidelined with injuries, yet some are close to making their returns.

Dennis Cirkin (hamstring) and Aji Alese (thigh) have returned to training, yet the club aren't putting a time frame on their returns.

Jay Matete and Timothee Pembele are expected to play for the under-21s side against Arsenal on Monday following long-term setbacks.

Jenson Seelt came off with a knock against Leeds on Tuesday but is expected to be in the squad, while Jewison Bennette has been managing an ankle issue.

Corry Evans isn't expected to be available until the new year due to his ACL injury.

Bristol City sit 15th in the table after winning just one of six games under new boss Liam Manning - a 3-2 home win over Middlesbrough.

The Robins were beaten 2-1 at Blackburn last time out and have switched between and back four and a back three under Manning.

Last season's top scorer Nahki Wells has been sidelined with an ankle injury in recent weeks.

When the team news was released against Leeds on Tuesday, many wondered how Sunderland were going to line up. Dodds was asked if that could be a positive heading into today's match.

"It's a massive positive," he said.

"Without giving too much away, that's probably going to be the same on Saturday to be honest with you. What I'd say is that I'd never make a decision that is about my ego or for the sake of making a decision. Whatever decision is made will be thoroughly thought out, it will be discussed a thousand times amongst the backroom staff, we'll have have checked and challenged each other on it.

"When I decided to do what I did on Tuesday night, it wasn't just some five-minute decision. That's something that is hours and hours of trying to come up with, 'if we do this and they do that...' that will be the same for Saturday. Whatever the final decision is for Saturday, it'll be one that's made over a sustained period of time."

Here are our predicted line-ups for today's match:

Predicted Bristol City XI: O’Leary, Tanner, Vyner, Dickie, Pring; James, Gardner-Hickman, Sykes, Knight, Mehmeti, Conway

Predicted Sunderland XI: Patterson, Hume, Ballard, O'Nien, Huggins, Ekwah, Roberts, Pritchard, Clarke, Bellingham

Team news coming soon...