Gav says…
I don’t think much really needs to change tactically, as I think the way that we’ve played so far this season has worked.
Focus on defence first, stay organised, and be a threat on set-pieces. If we do
that, we’ll do well.
The big question mark is over who’s selected, and there is a real appetite and temptation to find a way to play Dan Ballard, but I don’t think it’s as straightforward as it may seem. Whilst the benefits are obvious — he’s an excellent defender, a huge asset when we get set-pieces and throw-ins, and he looked very good in that back three with Nordi Mukiele and Omar Alderete against Aston Villa — it’s the knock-on effect for the rest of the side that I’m not so keen on.
Away from home and against a team who are seemingly going to try and dominate the ball, we’ll need legs in midfield and we have to be careful not to stretch Noah Sadiki and Granit Xhaka too much — particularly given how long Habib Diarra is set to sit out for.
It’s far less catastrophic to start with Chris Rigg or Dan Neil in there than it is to go with a more narrow system and play wing-backs, and I suspect that’s exactly what we’ll do. If I was going to stick money on it, I’d say that Chris Rigg will start in the same position as he did against Villa, and that the team is likely to be unchanged bar a straight swap at left back, with Arthur Masuaku coming in for Reinildo.
The big formational and systematic tweaks should be left until later in the game, which is something Régis Le Bris likes to do anyway.
It might seem harsh on Ballard, given how well he did last Sunday, but I’m also conscious that he struggles to stay fit and was only thrown on last weekend after a spell out injured, so let’s be careful with him and, if we need him, he’s there as an option later in the game.
Tom Albrighton says…
I think this weekend might be a chance for Régis Le Bris to get a little bit zany with his selections.
With the obvious omissions of Diarra through injury and Reinildo for what can only be described as an assault on the future gene pool of the Cash family, he’ll be forced to make at least two changes regardless.
With Ange Postecoglou favouring an ultra-aggressive high press and finding himself still chasing that elusive first win, it stands to reason that Saturday’s game will be a real clash of styles. Because of that, I think Le Bris may find himself thinking outside of the box in terms of team selection and will almost be certainly tempted by the fact he has not one or two colossi at centre back, but three.
Sunderland are also blessed with pace up top, with Eliezer Mayenda, Chemsdine Talbi and the currently thriving Wilson Isidor all ready and willing to break from well within their own half. It isn’t a certainty but my gut feeling is that he may look to a back five thanks to his abundance of options, whilst moving Enzo Le Fée into a more central position to allow for two strikers to lead the line on the basis that Forest are more than likely to leave at least some space in behind to potentially exploit.
As a result, I think there’s two fates on offer: we’re either in for an absolute thriller of some sorts, or both sides tactically cancel one another out and a drab 0-0 ensues.
Either way, we’ve earned the right to try something a bit different and to not be worried about the result as we sit nicely ahead of the curve in terms of where we need to be, whilst much like Crystal Palace away, being aware enough to know when to respect a point gained on the road.
Ewan Bowman says…
I would keep the approach exactly the same, which is being extremely solid at the back and a threat on the counter attack and from set pieces.
I’d keep the formation the same, whilst bringing in Ballard and playing a back 3 is tempting, I would stick with the 4-3-3 formation.
With Forest being the home team, I’d expect them to have more of the bal,l which will allow us to hit them on the break.
I’d expect Adingra to play on the left with Le Fee playing in the middle. Talbi on the right and Isidor up front. This will give us plenty of pace to hurt them in attack.
