Sunderland could be without four players against Liverpool on Wednesday, although Noah Sadiki is expected to feature despite ‘suffering’ after being elbowed during the Black Cats’ win over Bournemouth at the weekend.
The Reds are back at Anfield tomorrow as they look to record back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time since September, having returned to winning ways against West Ham at the weekend.
The pressure is far from lifted on boss Arne Slot though, and there will be plenty of eyes on him as Liverpool aims to return to form at home after dismal defeats to Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven.
There are still plenty of questions hanging over the Reds, especially after Mohamed Salah was dropped to the bench at the weekend, and they’ll be given another tough examination by a Sunderland side that has defied expectations so far this season.
The Black Cats sit a point ahead of Liverpool ahead of the game, and just a couple of points outside the top four, having made their way up from the Championship after winning the play-off final last season.
Ahead of tomorrow’s game, Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has confirmed his side has no new injury concerns to deal with, although he admit that Sadiki is still dealing with the effects after being struck in the face on Saturday.
Regis Le Bris
Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris has confirmed his side has no new injury concerns ahead of facing Liverpool
The midfielder was elbowed by Lewis Cook late on in the game, with the Bournemouth man shown a straight red card for the challenge.
"He's suffered and he still is now," Le Bris said about Sadiki on Tuesday. "He will be okay for Wednesday but he suffered."
With Sadiki having been given the all-clear, that leaves four players that could potentially be missing for Sunderland tomorrow.
Center-back Aji Alese looks set to miss out again - the defender has been out since August after undergoing shoulder surgery, and looks as though he may have to wait until later this month to make his comeback.
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Habib Diarra is also expected to miss out, having been missing since September with a groin problem. The $40M summer signing also underwent surgery, with Sunderland not looking to rush him back.
Dennis Cirkin and Leo Hjelde could be in contention to return to the first-team picture soon though. The pair played for Sunderland’s U21s against Sporting CP last week, having both been laid off with injury.
"They are really close which is good news,” Le Bris said. “Like Romaine [Mundle] one week before. It's really important to have everyone connected and in their best shape so they're ready."