JORDI GOMEZ is hoping history repeats itself when Sunderland travel to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace on Monday.

Last season, the Black Cats were in the bottom three with just one win to their name when they made a November trip to Palace for a televised fixture that resulted in their first away victory of the season.

Things are very similar this time around, with Sunderland lying in 19th position ahead of Monday’s televised game in South London. Their only league win is last month’s 1-0 victory over Newcastle United, and they are still searching for an away success to kick-start their campaign.

The parallels are remarkable, and having scored Sunderland’s second goal in their 3-1 victory at Palace 12 months ago, Gomez is keen to help engineer more of the same in three days’ time.

“Last season, we were in the bottom three when we went to Crystal Palace, but we won there and that helped us climb up the league over the next couple of months,” said the midfielder, who returned to the Black Cats’ starting line-up in the 1-0 defeat to Southampton that preceded the international break.

“I scored in last season’s win, and we had a great game down there. It was a very important three points, at a very important time for us.

“Hopefully, it will be the same case this season. We need a positive result, and if we get it on Monday, there is no reason why we can’t crack on from there. Winning at Palace last year gave us confidence – doing it again this year would do the same and help us get more good results.”

If Sunderland are to claim a much-needed victory next week, they will have to improve markedly from their last away performance, which resulted in a 6-2 embarrassment at Everton.

Sam Allardyce’s side was ripped apart at will at Goodison Park, and the Black Cats boss has used the international break to try to make his team much harder to break down.

There has been a strong focus on organisation and general team shape, with Allardyce determined to address his side’s defensive deficiencies before turning his attention to their shortcomings at the other end of the field.

There were signs of a defensive improvement in the Southampton defeat, and Gomez admits it is essential Sunderland concentrate on being hard to break down when they return to action on Monday.

“The break has been important because it has given the manager some time to get over his ideas,” he said. “He has been talking a lot about what he thinks is best for us.

“The main thing is that he wants us to be solid because we have been conceding a lot of goals this season. That is what he has been stressing because, if we can get that right, we have shown that we can score goals.

“It’s about getting the shape right first, and that’s not just the defence, it’s the whole team. That’s the main thing we have to improve.”

The focus on Sunderland’s defensive work means Gomez is likely to continue in the deep-lying role he filled against Southampton when the action begins at Selhurst Park.

The Spaniard has spent the majority of his career playing in an attacking-midfield role, and Gus Poyet envisaged him eventually filling the ‘number ten’ position when he signed him in the summer of 2014.

Allardyce has been restricting his attacking forays though, and while that means a repeat of last season’s goal against Palace is less likely, the 30-year-old is happy to sacrifice his personal ambitions for the good of the team.

“I would like to be scoring more, but I have been playing in more of a defensive position this season,” said Gomez. “I have spent most of my time here in England in a more advanced role, but this season I have been playing as one of the two sitting midfielders.

“I don’t mind playing there – I enjoy it as well. If you play in a more attacking position, you have more chances to score, but I don’t mind and sometimes you can still get chances when you are coming from deep.

“You don’t really have to adapt too much – I’m just trying to do my best for the team, and I am happy playing in any position on the pitch.”

Martin Kelly and Yohan Cabaye will be available to face Sunderland on Monday despite being caught up in last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris.

Kelly was at a restaurant within walking distance of one of the cafés targeted in the co-ordinated attacks, while Cabaye, who played against England on Tuesday, was a late substitute at the Stade de France as suicide bombers targeted France’s game against Germany. Both players have returned to training with Palace though, and will be part of Monday’s squad.