Alex Pritchard could make his first start of the season tonight.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Tony Mowbray called the Sunderland midfielder a ‘crucial cog’ as he hinted that he could replace Pierre Ewkwah in the starting line-up.
Pritchard previously looked extremely likely to leave Sunderland during the summer transfer window, much to the frustration of many fans.
However, the 30-year-old remained on Wearside beyond deadline day and he has since made a huge impact from the bench.
Pritchard came onto replace the injured Ekwah after only 14 minutes at the weekend and he instantly made an impact, arguably looking like one of the best players on the pitch as Sunderland beat QPR 3-1.
Ekwah is set to miss out on tonight’s trip to Blackburn Rovers, while Bradley Dack could also be absent after missing the weekend’s victory.
This means that Pritchard could be brought in from the start, with Mowbray heaping praise on him this week.
“While [Bradley] Dack is injured in particular, Alex Pritchard is a very crucial cog in our wheel I think,” Mowbray said.
“I have to say that every time he has come on the pitch so far this season he has been very, very good. He’s taken on board some of the discussions we’ve had and he has shown everyone his talent very, very well.
“We could have scored more goals on Saturday and Pritchard was basically the assister for every one of those clear cut chances. Nobody is questioning his talent.
“So he will be involved very much over the coming weeks, and yet there might be times when Dack is fit and Alex is on the bench. At times we might want to rotate and play two centre forwards and not really have a ten.
“Alex is part of the group, the squad, and he’s really embraced that. He’s enjoying his football and I think that is being reflected in his performances out on the grass.”
Alex Pritchard definitely deserves to start for Sunderland tonight
While Pierre Ekwah is a huge loss given how brilliant he has been in recent games, fans will be delighted to see Alex Pritchard finally get a start.
The midfielder has been very good when coming off the bench and has been very unfortunate to be playing such little football.
While we will definitely be missing a big strong defensive midfielder that we probably do need at Ewood Park, there is no denying that Pritchard will be a great addition to the line-up.