Sunderland will now take on a West Brom team who will be without last season’s Player of the Year.
As per Sunderland Echo, Okay Yokuslu will miss the trip to Wearside after picking up five yellow cards.
Okay Yokuslu joined West Brom from Celta Vigo in 2022 and quickly became a key player for the club, as he was named their Player of the Year in his first season in the Midlands.
The Turkey international has continued to be an ever present figure in their side this term, starting 17 of their 19 games in the Championship.
However, Yokuslu’s booking in their 2-1 defeat to Leicester City at the weekend means he will now serve a one-match suspension and won’t be available to face Sunderland.
Yokuslu has regularly partnered the likes of Nathaniel Chalobah and Alex Mowatt this season, while the pair could now line up together in the ‘excellent’ 29-year-old’s absence.
West Brom will also be without Matt Phillips, who limped off against Leicester with an injury.
While Sunderland certainly don’t wish injury upon any of their opponents, they could really do with any help they can get in their current mess.
The Black Cats managed to salvage a point against Millwall at the weekend, having now failed to win in their last five matches on the road.
It is the only the second point Tony Mowbray‘s side have claimed in their last four games, despite facing teams that are all currently facing a relegation battle.
Meanwhile, West Brom sat fifth in the Championship and will be eager to widen the gap between themselves and the teams fighting for a place in the play offs.
What do Sunderland need vs West Brom?
Sunderland will need some magic to get anything out of Saturday’s match, but the absence of Okay Yokuslu could definitely make their life a little easier.
They can’t focus too much on the opponents though, with Mowbray definitely needing to take a look at his team selection before hosting the Baggies.
Sunderland’s defence has been atrocious in recent weeks, despite three individuals actually becoming some of their best players so far this season (bar Luke O’Nien).
Trai Hume and Niall Huggins have both been far from their best, and Mowbray could really do with both Dennis Cirkin and Aji Alese returning to full fitness to give him some more valuable options to work with.
Meanwhile, the form of Pierre Ekwah really isn’t helping either. The Frenchman is usually sold and reliable in the middle but has looked completely ‘off it’, while we can’t just rely on Dan Neil to do two jobs at once.