Tuesday opponents Sunderland's back-to-back defeats heading into Tuesday's match at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium doesn't reflect on how good a team they actually are in the eyes of Michael Duff.
The Black Cats visit the Jonny-Rocks Stadium this week following losses to Bolton Wanderers and Doncaster Rovers but Duff knows how strong a team they are at this level given their league position in League One.
The meeting between the two teams earlier in the season also highlighted the quality the former Premier League side have, which has been strengthened of late with the likes of Jermaine Defoe and former Manchester City wide man Patrick Roberts having been added to their squad during January.
"They've just lost back-to-back and they're still fourth in the League which shows you what a strong position they are in," he said.
"We know what they're all about. They beat us 5-0 earlier in the season. There is a little bit of upheaval in terms of losing the manager. We can't worry too much about Sunderland. We know they're a really good team, we know they've got some very good players and we know about the size of the club as well.
"The league table tells you they are a good team and their result against us earlier in the season tells you they're a good team. The table tells its own story. We've got to try and implement what we do on them and be better than we were against them earlier in the season."
Duff has also confirmed that Dan Nlundulu will be out for up to ten weeks with his hamstring injury and Charlie Brown needs time to settle his injury. A planned friendly at Aston Villa on Saturday was postponed due to injuries but there will be players returning to the squad for Tuesday's fixture.
There are tickets on sale for Tuesday's game with a limited number of seats available still to buy.
If you purchase before midnight on Monday you can save £2 on the cost of each ticket. Buy online for the game.
Also coming up this week is the first Kids for a Quid matchday on Saturday against Fleetwood Town where under-16s can enjoy £1 entry when using the voucher code QUIDKID online.
