Sunderland's on-loan Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha is readying himself for an important run of games.
North-west quartet Bolton, Manchester United, Blackpool and Bolton await the Black Cats between this Saturday and New Year's Day.
And Onuoha told the club's official website: "The opportunity is there to get points on the board, and with the ambition this side has we want to bag as many as we can.
"Bolton are flying high at the moment but they are only two points ahead of us. Obviously they're doing a lot of things well at the moment so we are going to have to give 110 per cent on the day."
