Two teams desperate to avoid relegation will slug it out when Aston Villa host Sunderland in a crunch English Premier League game Monday.
Villa are just two points ahead of third bottom Wigan Athletic, with Reading and Queens Park Rangers already relegated from the Premier League.
Sunderland are a little better placed following consecutive victories, and they currently lie in 15th, on 37 points from 34 games, five more than Wigan, having played the same number of matches.
"If we win this game we will stay up and we will try and win the game, not mathematical but with 40 points you should stay up," Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio said.
"In this moment we prefer to maintain the concentration and the focus and get three points.
"It's obvious we do have one eye on the future but in this moment I don't want to lose any sort of energy because I know that football can change quickly.
"As I've said my many times my mentality is to keep going and to maintain the same focus because if you want to change the habit or mentality we have to deliver it by the fact, by the example."
Sunderland will welcome back former Villa man Craig Gardner from suspension, while Connor Wickham is ruled out along with long-term absentees Lee Cattermole and Steven Fletcher.
Villa have no new injury worries, while Chris Herd, Gary Gardner, Marc Albrighton and Richard Dunne remain sidelined.
"There is real focus in my players and in my team but we live in an environment where we are not one door or one room together and outside there is nothing," Di Canio added.
"There is an environment at work that can persuade or motivate in a positive or negative way, fortunately at the moment I discover that we have genuine people and players that are ready for training sessions.
"If we have a training session or game, and if we are to stay up, we have to retain the same focus and same concentration because in the future I hope we don't have to suffer like we did this year."
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Expected lineups: Aston Villa: Guzan; Lowton, Vlaar, Baker, Bennett; Westwood, N'Zogbia, Delph; Weimann, Benteke, Agbonlahor.
Sunderland: Mignolet; Larsson, O'Shea, Cuellar, Rose; N'Diaye, Colback; Johnson, Sessegnon, McClean; Graham.
Prediction: 1-1
