Starting XI: Will Tony Mowbray make four changes to Sunderland’s team against Coventry today?

Tony Mowbray rotated the side a bit in midweek, and unfortunately we suffered for it. It wasn’t until we made a few subs that we looked at the races, and I expect to see a few players who started the Rotherham game on the bench to come back into the team today.

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Goalkeeper: Anthony Patterson

I actually think Patterson will have been disappointed with both goals he conceded on Tuesday, however he’s been excellent for the majority of the season and will face another big test today.

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Defenders: Trai Hume, Dan Ballard, Danny Batth, Aje Alese

Hume and Alese should come back in today - neither O’Nien or Cirkin really made a case for keeping their place at full back, and hopefully Batth and Ballard are fit enough to play today. I was confused by Mowbray’s decision to swap the two of them round on Tuesday, and it looked like they were, too.

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Midfield: Luke O’Nien, Pierre Ekwah

We lost the midfield battle on Tuesday, with neither Neil or Michu able to exert any influence on the game. I don’t think it was their fault necessarily - the formation left them a bit short - but I think we could see O’Nien and Ekwah start today as we look to manage the game well from the off.

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Attacking midfield: Patrick Roberts, Amad, Jack Clarke

Roberts looked a different class when he came on against Rotherham, and will come back into the team today. Amad had a poor game, but I think that was more to do with how we set up than anything else. Given Clarke’s goal threat, it’d be a real risk to leave him out of the team.

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Striker: Joe Gelhardt

A positive from Tuesday was Gelhardt getting off the mark. He should have had a few more in all honesty, but it should set him in good stead for the rest of the season.

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