Regis Le Bris has made a significant change to his Sunderland defence
Sunderland have been handed a double injury boost after both Noah Sadiki and Omar Alderete were passed fit to face Wolves on Saturday afternoon.
Sadiki suffered a sprained ankle while on international duty with DR Congo, while Alderete was withdrawn with a muscle issue in the latter stages of Paraguay's friendly defeat to South Korea on Tuesday. In his pre-match press conference, however, Regis Le Bris expressed hope that both would be able to feature.
"We’re hopeful that both Omar and Noah can start, it’s possible." Le Bris said.
"For Noah, we checked him yesterday and he seems OK. We’ll see after the training session today and tomorrow but we are positive.With Omar, after 20 hours flight, we’ll see! We’ll check him this afternoon. We had a quick chat with him and he’s positive. Everyone else appears to be OK."
Regis has nevertheless made a very significant change to the make up of the side, with Dan Ballard recalled to the starting XI. Arthur Masuaku has dropped to the bench, meaning Trai Hume looks likely to move across to left back. Alternatively, Sunderland could potentially line up with a back three.
There is one other change to the starting XI that lost 2-0 to Manchester United, with Chris Rigg recalled. That means that Enzo Le Fee moves back out to the left flank, with Bertrand Traore playing on the right.
Sunderland XI: Roefs; , Mukiele, Alderete, Ballard, Hume; Xhaka, Sadiki, Rigg; Le Fee, Traore, Isidor
Subs: Patterson, Masuaku, O’Nien, Geertruida, Neil, Adingra, Mayenda, Brobbey, Talbi
Wolves, meanwhile, have been handed a big injury boost of their own after Matt Doherty was passed fit to play after wrist surgery.
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RLB: Why Sunderland can’t underestimate Wolves
Wolves come into the game struggling for form, having not yet won in the Premier League. But having drawn with Brighton and Spurs in their last two fixtures, and having come within minutes of beating them both, Le Bris has warned his players that they cannot afford to take the game lightly.
Le Bris said: “They struggled at the beginning of the league but the last two games showed that they are really competitive. They deserved to win their last two games. Good players, good energy, well coached. This is the league, you can struggle even if you are strong. If you are not clinical you can be punished. They had many chances to score a second goal. That is the Premier League.”
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