Sunderland desperately need to pick up three points in their next game against Sheffield Wednesday, and Regis Le Bris is going to be forced into plenty of changes to his starting XI on Friday.
The Black Cats go into the game on the back of back-to-back defeats, after the heartbreaking last-gasp loss against Leeds last week, and the dismal 1-0 defeat against Hull City at the weekend.
Sunderland fans have voiced their disappointment in the wake of that latest result, with Regis Le Bris told to drop Anthony Patterson after his howler against Hull.
Next up is a trip to Hillsborough to take on Sheffield Wednesday, who are going through a bit of a slump themselves at the moment.
Here, we take a look at the latest injury news in the Sunderland squad, and take a shot at a predicted Sunderland lineup for the upcoming fixture.
Sunderland team and injury news ahead of Sheffield Wednesday clash
As far as injury updates go, it couldn’t get much worse for Sunderland at the moment. Le Bris has been hit with a triple injury blow this week, with Enzo Le Fee and Dan Ballard both out for six to eight weeks, and Jayden Danns missing the rest of the season.
Le Bris has been blamed for these injuries by some, with suggestions that he has overworked players and in particular, has not managed the minutes of Le Fee wisely.
There is some good news, though, with Romaine Mundle now back in action after months on the sidelines, and Tommy Watson back in training over the last week, too.
Regis Le Bris forced into major changes for Sunderland XI vs Sheffield Wednesday
The enforced changes Le Bris will have to make, twinned with the need to freshen things up anyway, we can expect a very different Sunderland XI to take to the pitch on Friday night.
Despite criticism of his performances, Anthony Patterson will naturally start in goal as there are no real alternatives. Meanwhile, Chris Mepham will come in for the injured Ballard in the middle of defence to partner Luke O’Nien, with Trai Hume and Dennis Cirkin in the full-back roles.
The midfield will be an interesting dilemma for Le Bris, though. Chris Rigg looks fatigued as it is, but may have to start this one, while Dan Neil and Jobe Bellingham are obvious choices in the middle. The only alternative here is that we may see Salis Abdul Samed get the nod, with Jobe pushing higher up.
Out wide, we would expect Patrick Roberts to start on the right as normal, while Romaine Mundle must now surely get the start after getting minutes under his belt at the weekend.
Wilson Isidor will continue as the lone striker up top, while Eliezer Mayenda will have to settle for an impact sub role once again.