Sunderland are back in Championship action on October 20th, with a visit to Hull City.
It has been an outstanding start to the 2024/25 season for Sunderland under Regis Le Bris.
The Black Cats’ transformation under Le Bris in just a few months has been nothing short of remarkable.
Sunderland drew 2-2 with Leeds United last time out, leaving them sat top of the Championship table going into the current international break.
The North East outfit face a short trip to Yorkshire on their return to action next week, taking on Hull City.
Hull have had an incredibly average start to 2024/25 – winning three, drawing three, losing three, scoring 12 and conceding 13 to sit 13th in the standings.
As a result, Sunderland will likely fancy their chances of getting back to winning ways in this clash despite their form being slightly worse when playing away from the Stadium of Light in the current campaign.
Early Sunderland team and injury news vs Hull City
Sunderland have had a couple of injury issues so far this season and have been hit with a few more during the international break.
Le Bris has been dealt two potential blows, with both Dan Ballard and Jobe Bellingham having injury scares in the last week.
Ballard has been ruled out of Northern Ireland’s two Nations League games this month due to an ankle injury while there is much more uncertainty around Bellingham’s potential injury problem.
On a more positive note, Le Bris confirmed that Milan Aleksic is on his way back to fitness after the draw with Leeds last weekend.
He said: “For Milan, that is really the case as well. Hopefully, he will be playing with his national team and that will give him time to develop and grow.
“He also needs to find a link with the team here because it is a new experience and hopefully we will have two, three or four more players back for the team soon. That will be important for the squad.”
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Early Sunderland predicted XI to face Hull City
Despite conceding two against Leeds last time out, Le Bris is unlikely to make too many changes to his backline going forward.
Sunderland have a largely excellent defensive record with a few mistakes marring some otherwise solid displays.
The base of the Black Cats’ midfield will also look somewhat similar while Wilson Isidor will likely start up front.
However, as mentioned above, Bellingham’s fitness is currently up in the air, giving Le Bris a potentially major selection dilemma for the Hull clash.
Should the Englishman indeed miss out next weekend, Aleksic could come into the eleven in his place.
The 19-year-old is yet to make an appearance for the North East outfit, being left on the bench in their last five league games, but he could finally be given a runout against the Tigers.
Here’s how we think Sunderland will line up against Hull City next week…
Patterson (GK)
Cirkin
O’Nien
Mepham
Hume
Neil
Aleksic
Mundle
Rigg
Roberts
Isidor