Sunderland are preparing for their final Championship fixture before Christmas.
The Black Cats will host Coventry City in what will be their first match since Michael Beale was appointed head coach.
The team’s form had looked to have drastically improved as they claimed huge wins over West Brom and Leeds United under interim Mike Dodds, however they were quickly brought back down to earth when they were narrowly beaten by Bristol City last weekend.
It has now been four days since Michael Beale was named as Tony Mowbray’s successor, and he will be desperate to get off to a winning start after a tough reception from the Sunderland supporters and the wider football fanbase.
Anything other than a victory would be disappointing against Coventry either way though, with the Sky Blues currently sat 15th in the Championship. Their form has improved slightly though, having won three of their last five games.
Beale will have a big task on his hands in picking three points up tomorrow, with Sunderland failing to beat Coventry since February 2007.
Here is our predicted starting line-up for Michael Beale’s first match in charge…
Sunderland predicted XI vs Coventry City
Anthony Patterson takes his place between the sticks for another Championship fixture. The goalkeeper is yet to be challenged for his spot, though will be hoping to redeem himself after giving away a penalty last time out.
Trai Hume will continue to occupy one side of the defence and is likely to be asked to be a lot more attacking under Michael Beale, who likes his full-backs to do plenty of overlapping on the pitch.
Niall Huggins will feature on the opposite flank, where he will thrive off his continued role pushing up the wing. The pair remain unchallenged by competition, with Dennis Cirkin, Aji Alese and Timothee Pembele unlikely to be available just yet.
We can’t expect too many changes from Beale, and while Jenson Seelt could definitely push for a start in the future, it would be surprising if Dan Ballard and Luke O’Nien don’t retain their places in the middle of defence.
Pierre Ekwah has been underperforming for a few months now, so it could be 50/50 as to whether he is given another chance. Our lack of defensive midfielders has led me to including him in the team alongside ‘amazing’ Dan Neil.
Jobe Bellingham will surely return to the starting line-up after missing out against Bristol City. Alex Pritchard has been brilliant under Mike Dodds, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Beale wasn’t keen – just like Mowbray.
Abdoullah Ba has been very poor in the two starts he was handed recently, and fans will hope he will return to the bench this weekend. Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts take up their roles in either wing, while I expect (and hope) a striker will return to the side.
It’s hard to predict which one will tickle Beale’s fancy, but I have gone for Nazariy Rusyn just because he seems the most lively up top – plus he scored for the U21s this week.
While we did pick up six points under Dodds, it would be very disappointing to see us continue with Jack Clarke in that No.9 position.