Sunderland could face Newcastle United without a key player this weekend.
Sunderland will host their fierce rivals Newcastle United in the FA Cup third round on Saturday afternoon – almost eight years after the last Wear-Tyne derby took place.
Despite rotten luck with their injuries in 2023, Michael Beale could arguably field his strongest starting line-up at the Stadium of Light.
Aji Alese has made his long-awaited return and slots nicely into the left side of defence, while the likes of Dan Neil, Dan Ballard and Jack Clarke are all ready to go.
However, there is one player whose skill and creativity will be sorely missed from the team if he is unable to pass a fitness test in time.
Patrick Roberts missed out on Sunderland’s meeting with Preston North End on New Year’s Day, after he was forced off with a calf problem in the 1-1 draw with Rotherham United.
It was unclear whether the winger would be fit to face the Magpies, but Michael Beale has now provided an update on his fitness.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the head coach said: “Patrick is a big doubt for Saturday’s game.
“I’ll have to make a call on him later in the week. Paddy has got an issue with his calf which we think we’ve caught at the right time, but we certainly don’t want to rush him because we know what the schedule is going to be like towards the end of the season.
“And it was nice in a way because we hadn’t had Alex Pritchard available for a couple of games, and it worked out for us because he [Pritchard] was fantastic at the weekend.”
Can we beat Newcastle without Patrick Roberts?
Patrick Roberts remains one of Sunderland‘s biggest attacking threats, even if he hasn’t quite replicated the form that won him praise last term.
Alex Neil previously labelled him a ‘little magician’ as he picked up five goals and seven assists in the Championship, however he is yet to get off the mark this time round.
Patrick Roberts has struggled in front of goal this season, but there is no doubt that he causes trouble for defenders, and it seems like pretty much every week we see him run past three of four of them before getting a shot away.
While it will be very important to be defensively solid in front of the likes of Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak, it seems like a much bigger challenge to score at the other end without Roberts.
Alex Pritchard certainly isn’t a bad substitute, given how ‘outstanding‘ he has been over the last couple of games. His extraordinary opener against Preston proves he can definitely give us something different against Newcastle.
However, Pritchard isn’t a winger, and it is Roberts’ threat on that right flank that so often gives us an advantage.