Regis Le Bris reveals Bristol City fears, demands ‘respectful’ approach from Sunderland players

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Sunderland are back in action again in midweek, with a home tie against Bristol City, and Regis Le Bris is not taking anything for granted.

The Black Cats finally got back to winnings ways at the weekend, with a gritty 2-1 win over Stoke City at the Stadium of Light.

Two goals from everyone’s new favourite local hero, Tommy Watson, were enough to seal the three points for Sunderland on Saturday lunchtime.

Regis Le Bris has another home tie to navigate now, with Bristol City the next to visit Wearside this week, and the Sunderland manager has been assessing the challenge that faces his team in his latest press conference.

• READ MORE: Sunderland fans were completely wrong about something in victory over Stoke City, Regis Le Bris was right all along

Regis Le Bris knows Sunderland will have to be at their best to beat Bristol City

Speaking to the press ahead of the midweek fixture (via the Sunderland YouTube channel), Le Bris was asked about the specific threats Bristol City pose, and underlined the importance of his Sunderland team being at 100% to get the result they need on Tuesday night.

He said: “It will be a very tough game, we have to be respectful to everyone in this league. They have a good coach, good players, they play positive football, they create lots of chances in behind, they play very vertical.

“We have to play our best football, otherwise we will struggle. Even when we play our best we can still struggle. But it’s all about consistency; if we keep improving and focus on the different phases, we can continue to win.”

On how he expects Bristol to play, Le Bris added: “Bristol will try to win. This is the mindset of the league. It will be open, and I hope it will be a positive game.”

• READ MORE: Tommy Watson’s ‘dreams have come true’ after two-goal display vs Stoke, but he only enjoyed one of them

Bristol City’s inconsistency makes them an unpredictable opponent for Sunderland

In many ways, the fact that Bristol City are rooted in a midtable position, and have won as many as they have lost this season, makes them a really worrying prospect for Sunderland.

On paper, the Mackems are clear favourites for this game, but that is not how the Championship works, as we know.

This double-header against Stoke and Bristol is a crucial one for Sunderland as they look to really build some momentum going into the festive period.

If Sunderland beat Bristol City tomorrow, they can go into the games against Swansea and Norwich full of confidence and right in the title challenge. If they lose, however, they will be right back to square one, and that game against Swansea will look a whole lot tougher.