After dropping points against Preston North End in midweek, Regis Le Bris will be desperate to get back to winning ways and get his Sunderland starting XI spot on.
Sunderland went into Tuesday’s game on the back of successive victories over Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff City. Spirits were high, but Preston frustrated the Black Cats with a low-block approach.
Regis Le Bris could only take a point from the game in a 1-1 draw, with Romaine Mundle ultimately saving Sunderland’s blushes with a late, great goal.
Next up is a trip to Coventry City, with Frank Lampard getting the Sky Blues firing of late. Plenty to worry about for Le Bris and his men, then, especially if Lampard makes good on Mark Robins’ indirect advice earlier this season on how to beat Sunderland.
Before the big game this weekend, we take a look at the Sunderland predicted XI and bring you all the latest team and injury news for the Mackems.
Sunderland team and injury news ahead of Coventry game
Sunderland’s injury list is not looking too friendly again right now, with a number of players out for weeks at a time.
As we know, Enzo Le Fee has another three to four weeks on the sidelines, while Dan Ballard is more in the four to five range.
Updates on Ahmed Abdullahi and Jayden Danns last week were not positive, with the former suffering a setback in training and Danns still struggling while in rehabilitation at Liverpool.
The latest setback sees Leo Hjelde out for a few days – he will likely miss the trip to Coventry, but only has a ‘small injury’.
It is thought Ian Poveda and Salis Abdul Samed are out for a few weeks each, too, while youngster Trey Ogunsuyi will miss out for a while as well.
Aji Alese is out for the season, but that’s old news at this stage.
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Sunderland predicted lineup vs Coventry City
Le Bris reverted to a 4-4-2 for the Preston game, but sadly, that experiment did not work. That doesn’t mean he won’t try it again this weekend, but it’s very unlikely.
No, we suspect the Sunderland manager will go back to his tired-and-tested 4-2-3-1 formation, with two big changes within the team to help facilitate that shape more effectively.
The backline should stay the same, with Patterson obviously in goal, and a defensive four of Trai Hume, Chris Mepham, Luke O’Nien, and Dennis Cirkin.
The midfield on Tuesday looked leggy and lacked the dynamism and control we have become accustomed to. Chris Rigg’s return should help with that, while Romaine Mundle must surely start over Tommy Watson on the left.
In attack, Le Bris has a big decision to make: does he stick with Eliezer Mayenda or go for the more experienced Wilson Isidor? We suspect, given the nature of the opponent, Isidor will get the nod as the sole striker.