This afternoon’s game against Fulham comes off the back of a two week international break which thankfully seems to have seen no new injury concerns emerge, plus three games in which we played a slightly
different shape to what we had done before. Will Le Bris stick with this new tactical approach? Will last-minute hero last time out Brian Brobbey get a start? Will fit again Omar Alderete get back into the team? Plenty of questions to be answered – and this is how we think Sunderland will line up today.
Goalkeeper: Robin Roefs
Roefs stood up well to Arsenal’s direct play and physicality, and will be looking forward to building on that performance against Fulham today.
Defence: Trai Hume, Nordi Mukiele, Lutsharel Geertruida, Dan Ballard, Reinildo
Reinildo missed some action while he was away, but Le Bris says he’s fit and raring to go, so I don’t see us making any changes at all in defence. It’s a formation that’s a bit more fluid and relies on the intelligence of all five to ensure we’re not a man light in midfield – but it’s worked well, gives us greater versatility, and I suspect we’ll stick with that for now. Cue Le Bris lining us up in a conventional 4-2-3-1 come 3pm…
Midfield: Granit Xhaka, Noah Sadiki
And it’ll be the same again in midfield, barring any new knocks, with the excellent Xhaka and Sadiki continuing their partnership in the centre of the pitch. This will be a game where we need the extra body in there, so look out for Hume pushing into make three.
Attack: Bertrand Traore, Wilson Isidor, Enzo Le Fee
I could make a strong case for Talbi and Brobbey to come into the starting XI today, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they did. However, as I’m trying to predict what Le Bris will do, I’m going for an unchanged attack too. Le Fee will want to make amends after his error for Arsenal’s opener, while Isidor’s pace on the break could be vital. Traore will be looking to put together the promising bits he’s shown into a cohesive, solid performance this afternoon.
