BENIK Afobe is hoping Sunderland’s desperate need for victory and his own good memories will combine to create a fruitful afternoon in the north east.

Afobe scored Cherries’ goal in a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light last season and he makes his latest trip to Wearside tomorrow having netted three times in his past six outings.

The 24-year-old’s nascent strike partnership with Joshua King has yielded 10 goals since the pair linked up eight games ago in the 1-1 draw at Manchester United.

Afobe told the Daily Echo: “The team has its little partnerships. Me and Josh want to set ourselves targets, then continue to raise them.

"It is always good playing against a team you have done well against before. I scored against Swansea on New Year’s Eve, then when we played them at home I thought ‘I've already scored against these and I want to do it again’... and I did.

“But it’s a fresh game and it starts 0-0. Sunderland are trying to stay up, so we know it will be an open game.

“Sometimes that is good for a centre-forward. There will be spaces and we will be working to exploit those."