Sunderland travel to Ipswich Town in the Championship this evening and Michael Beale could make a few tactical switches to his side.
The Black Cats will want to erase their disappointing 3-0 defeat against Newcastle United last weekend, and they can do that by taking points off the promotion challengers.
Since Michael Beale was appointed as manager, he has taken seven points from his first four Championship matches in charge.
In a bid to build up some consistency, the 43-year-old could decide to give Jobe Bellingham a rest after putting in a poor performance against the Toon.
The 18-year-old has played a lot of football this season and Sunderland have relied on him as an attacking force.
Having played in all but one match in all competitions, it is no surprise that fatigue is beginning to set in, and a period of rest – even if it just means him starting on the bench – could be hugely beneficial to getting the best out of him in the long run.
With that said, dropping Bellingham could see Alex Pritchard move into a central position behind Nazariy Rusyn while Abdoullah Ba could get a chance to start on the right.
Why Abdoullah Ba should start against Ipswich
Under Kieran McKenna, Ipswich are a possession-orientated side and their record at Portman Road speaks volumes of their dominance.
With only one defeat from their 13 matches on home soil, it is tough for any team in the division to come away from East Anglia with a positive result.
Teams are often forced into surrendering possession for large portions of the match and playing on the counter-attack is normally where sides catch them cold.
McKenna encourages his left-back Leif Davis to get forward as much as possible and cause havoc down the flank.
The 23-year-old has produced a whopping 11 assists in 23 appearances this season, however, he can be exploited defensively and this is where the pace of Ba enters the fray.
Once hailed by Tony Mowbray as “powerful in the air” and for his “wonderful athleticism”, Beale can unleash the Frenchman against the Tractor Boys by encouraging him to cause problems on the counter-attack.
In recent weeks, he has used Pritchard as a creative force down the right, but this feels like the perfect game to switch things up by moving the Englishman centrally and utilising the speed, strength and agility of Ba in wide areas.
Sunderland will have to be quick in transition to catch Ipswich out and play out of their press, and the physical attributes of the 20-year-old could be crucial to achieving that.