Sunderland boss Michael Beale looks set to be dealt a crucial player blow in the coming weeks.
After a very rocky start to life at the Stadium of Light, things are quickly starting to look up for Beale and Sunderland.
His side are now unbeaten in their last three, winning their last two home games by 3-1 scorelines and with a draw away at Middlesbrough in between.
Up next is a trip to strugglers Huddersfield Town.
It’ll be another tough game against a Terriers side who’ve seemingly turned a corner in the last couple of weeks, scoring seven goals in their last two games including three in a 5-3 defeat away at Southampton last time out.
And it’s the first of six games where Sunderland defender Dan Ballard has to avoid picking up a yellow card, or face a two-match suspension.
Dan Ballard walking suspension tightrope for Sunderland
Ballard, 24, has now featured in 30 of Sunderland’s opening 31 Championship fixtures this season, coming after injury limited him to just 19 Championship appearances in the last campaign.
But with nine yellow cards to his name already this season, Ballard now risks a two-game suspension if he picks up another yellow, with six games left to go before the count resets.
Avoiding a yellow cards in the next six games is something that journalist Michael Graham thinks will be a ‘tall order’ for the Northern Ireland international:
Michael Beale risks Ballard miss
Losing Ballard for two games would be a big blow for Beale.
He’s a dominant force at the back, with his aerial presence and ball-playing ability propping up a Sunderland side that have definitely shown huge signs of improvement in the last few weeks.
But it seems highly likely that he’ll pick up a yellow card in the next six games having averaged almost one in every three Championship games this season.
So Beale will be thinking towards that and it could mean a run in the XI for Jenson Seelt, and in his natural centre-back position rather on the flank.
He might be a more mobile defender than Ballard, but whether he can provide the same assurance remains to be seen.
And the timing of Ballard’s suspension could be key too; the final two of these six games are against the current top two in Leicester City and Southampton, so should Ballard avoid a yellow in the next three and pick one up vs Norwich at the start of next month, he’d miss the games vs Leicester and Southampton.
Up next though is a trip to Huddersfield Town in the Championship tomorrow night, with a win able to lift the Black Cats as high as 5th.