Sunderland will be looking to bounce back from the draw against Millwall at the weekend, but face an equally stern test with the visit of West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday night.
Regis Le Bris saw his side throw away two points at The Den on Saturday evening, with an injury time equaliser punishing Sunderland for their wastefulness in front of goal.
Still, the Black Cats were dealing with a number of injuries and suspensions for that trip to London, and Le Bris has even admitted Millwall deserved to get their goal on the day.
Looking ahead to the next game, the Sunderland squad will be boosted by the return of plenty of players, giving Le Bris a selection headache.
Sunderland team news ahead of West Brom game
The good news is Sunderland can welcome back the key trio of Trai Hume, Patrick Roberts, and Jobe Bellingham, who were all suspended for the Millwall game.
However, Dennis Cirkin is out after undergoing wrist surgery ahead of that trip to London, and will not be available for the West Brom clash.
Romaine Mundle and Alan Browne will also miss out, and are unlikely to play again this year with their respective injuries looking considerably more long-term.
Sunderland were without Leo Hjelde and Nazariy Rusyn for the meeting with Millwall, but Regis Le Bris has revealed the pair are not suffering from ‘major’ injuries and they should be back in contention this week.
Aaron Connolly scored his first Sunderland goal at the weekend, and though he had to leave the field of play early in the second half, it is thought this was merely precautionary.
West Brom could be without four players through injury, while Darnell Furlong will be missing due to a suspension after picking up another yellow card in the draw against Norwich at the weekend.
Gianluca Frabotta should be ready to return to action after recovering from a groin injury. But, Daryl Dike and Semi Ajeyi are both expected to be on the sidelines until 2025, while Kyle Bartley is due back mid-December.
Paddy McNair is also out until the New Year, when his loan spell at West Brom comes to an end, and he is very unlikely to ever play for the Baggies again.
- READ MORE: Regis Le Bris tells ‘really impressive’ Chris Rigg what he must do to keep improving at Sunderland
Sunderland predicted XI versus West Brom
Sunderland’s rotated lineup did well against Millwall on Saturday, but with a number of key players returning, Le Bris will very likely revert to his preferred starting XI for the midweek clash with West Brom.
Le Bris revealed his delight with Aaron Connolly after the striker scored at the weekend, but with Bellingham back, Connolly may have to settle for a spot on the substitute’s bench.
A slight reshuffle in defence will see Trai Hume slot in at right-back, with Luke O’Nien going back to his favoured centre-half role. Aji Alese will continue to deputise in the absence of Cirkin, though Hjelde could be passed fit enough to start.
The predicted Sunderland lineup for the visit of West Brom is: Anthony Patterson; Trai Hume, Luke O’Nien, Chris Mepham, Aji Alese; Dan Neil, Chris Rigg; Patrick Roberts, Jobe Bellingham, Tom Watson; Wilson Isidor.
Kick-off is scheduled for 8pm on Tuesday, November 26, 2024.