IT looks a daunting final week on paper, but Connor Wickham feels successive away games against Arsenal and Chelsea will play to Sunderland’s strengths as they attempt to claim the point they need to guarantee their Premier League safety.

Saturday’s goalless draw with Leicester City has left the Black Cats three points clear of 18th-placed Hull City, but the fact their goal difference is inferior to that of the Tigers means they are not safe yet.

With Hull entertaining Manchester United on the final afternoon, Sunderland could yet survive without picking up another point, but any doubt will be removed once and for all if they can draw at either the Emirates in two days time or Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Both of their final two opponents are in the Champions League positions, but whereas Saturday’s shutout witnessed the Black Cats fail to break down an obdurate Leicester side who were content to claim a point, neither Arsenal nor Chelsea will be anything like as defensively minded.

That will ask serious questions of the Sunderland back four, but if they can hold firm, Wickham is confident he and his fellow attackers will be able to take advantage at the opposite end of the field.

“We know what we have to do now, and that’s important,” said Wickham, who was the chief catalyst for last season’s successful survival bid as he scored three goals in back-to-back away games at Manchester City and Chelsea. “We need one more point and then we’re mathematically safe.

“We’ve got Arsenal and Chelsea, two teams that will probably let us play a bit because of the way they are. We’re away from home, but some of our away performances have been better than at home this season. It’s in our hands, and it’s up to us what we do on Wednesday and then on Sunday.”

Sunderland would already be safe had they beaten Leicester, but despite dominating for long periods at the Stadium of Light, Dick Advocaat’s side were unable to make what would have been an all-important breakthrough.

Nevertheless, they have only lost one of their last six matches, and having dropped into the relegation zone after they were thrashed by Crystal Palace, they have successfully regrouped to haul themselves into a position where they head into the final week as long-priced outsiders to go down.

“I don’t think there’s been any negativity at any stage,” said Wickham. “We went into the relegation zone for a little while, but got ourselves out of it quite quickly with back-to-back wins.

“They were massive for us, and we had chances to make it three out of three against Leicester. That wasn’t to be, but we have to take it as it is, and we’ll take the point as another step towards keeping us safe.

“Hull are probably in a position where they have to really push and throw caution to the wind to try to get the win against Man United. But regardless of what happens there, we’ve got two games to do what we need to do, and hopefully we’ll be fine.”

There were mixed emotions at the final whistle at the weekend, with any satisfaction at edging another point closer to safety being tempered by the sense that an opportunity to finish things once and for all had been spurned despite Leicester displaying limited ambition.

That ensured the traditional post-match lap of the field was an extremely subdued affair, but Wickham could understand why the supporters were not really in a mood to celebrate with their side’s survival still not confirmed.

“It would have been nice to seal it in front of our own fans,” he said. “That would have been a good send off for them and for ourselves. It would have made for more of a celebratory atmosphere when we came back out.

“But it was a positive point. We didn’t lose, and that was important because we go into the final two games knowing we just need a point to be safe.

“They’re two tough games away from home, but they both represent an opportunity for us. We just need one point, and we know we’re capable of getting that result. There are still two opportunities to clinch it, and hopefully we can do that on Wednesday night.”