Former Hull City midfielder Keith Andrews believes Sunderland's defeat to Charlton Athletic has left them with too much to do in order to win the League 1 title.
The Black Cats are eight points behind leaders Hull with two games in hand and will play one of those this evening against Wigan Athletic.
Lee Johnson's side were unbeaten in 14 games in all competitions prior to their defeat at the weekend and face a promotion showdown with the Tigers next Tuesday.
The Wearsiders are still full of belief that they can grab one of the automatic promotion spots but Andrews believes the difficult nature of the Black Cats run in could be a problem.
He told the Sky Sports EFL podcast : "They’re playing so well and when you factor in some of the individual quality within Hull and Peterborough’s team, they’re difficult to keep quiet.
“ They look rejuvenated , they look fresh they look like they’re not running out of steam in any way.
“It might be a stretch too far, especially when you look at some of the fixtures Sunderland have.
“They’ve got to play Blackpool twice because of the game being rearranged; Blackpool are flying at the moment and playing some of the best football in the division, so it’s going to be difficult.”
