Last Sunday's 1-0 defeat by Everton was the Black Cats' first in the league at the Stadium of Light in five matches since Manchester United's Boxing Day masterclass. Indeed, prior to the Toffees' arrival, Roy Keane's men had taken 16 points from a possible 21 on their own turf.

With just three of their 27 points to date having come on the road, Sunderland know their remaining home matches represent the best chance to secure top-flight status.

West Ham United, Manchester City and Middlesbrough have yet to arrive on Wearside but it is Saturday's visit of Chelsea and the final-day encounter with Arsenal which present the biggest tests.

Avram Grant's side took the edge off their FA Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of Championship Barnsley by thrashing Derby County 6-1 on Wednesday, and the Black Cats will hope the full force of the backlash has eased by the weekend.

But Keane's men have discovered a resilience at the back in recent weeks and while goals at the other end have become an increasingly rare commodity, Gordon and his defensive colleagues will hope they can provide the foundation for another shock result.

Asked about the collective unity in the back five, the Scotland international said: "That's getting there every week we play together. We don't like losing goals and we've tightened up fairly well, especially at home.

"The clean sheets have been coming at home and hopefully we can keep that going - and if we do it is a great basis for us going on to win games. Our home form has been great but it looks as though we will need to keep that going to make sure we are in the league."