Sunderland's fine recent form continued on Wednesday night as they cruised past struggling Watford at the Stadium of Light for their fifth win from six.

The Black Cats now sit fourth in the Championship table after goals from Niall Huggins and Abdoullah Ba secured a 2-0 win against the Hornets.

Tony Mowbray made one change from the team that beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 last time out, with Ba replacing Alex Pritchard in the midfield, and it was another confident performance from a Sunderland side that looks to have a real chance of returning to the top flight. 

After a tightly contested first 40 minutes, the hosts took the lead after a moment of magic from Huggins. 

The 22-year-old cut inside just past the halfway line and beat two men to reach the penalty box, before smashing a shot in off the crossbar for 1-0. 

Dan Ballard, who is enjoying a fine season in front of goal, came close to making it 2-0 just before the hour mark, but his header sailed just over the Watford goal. 

However, Sunderland would double their lead just minutes later, as Mason Burstow's cross was headed back across goal by Jobe Bellingham, with Ba on hand to nod in from close range for his second of the season. 

Adil Aouchiche was unfortunate not to get his first for the club after intercepting a slack pass from the back, as while his effort was enough to beat goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann, Ryan Porteous was well-placed to clear it off the line.

Watford's miserable night was compounded late on when Ryan Andrews was, perhaps harshly, shown a straight red card for a late challenge on Jack Clarke. 

Mowbray's side will be looking to extend their winning run to three when they face Middlesbrough in a North East derby this Saturday at 12.30pm.