Sunderland are back in Premier League action against Everton on Sunday afternoon
Régis Le Bris has made one change to his Sunderland XI to face Everton on Sunday afternoon.
Le Bris has brought Nilson Angulo into the starting XI for the first time since he suffered a hamstring injury in training ahead of Sunderland’s defeat to Brighton in March. The winger made his return from the bench against Manchester United last week, and replaces Chemsdine Talbi in the starting XI. Angulo will therefore play in his preferred left-wing position, having played much of his football since arriving in January off the right.
Trai Hume retains his place on the right of midfield, with Lutsharel Geertruida continuing at right back. Le Bris has opted not to bring Bertrand Traoré back into the squad, with Jocelin Ta Bi retaining his place on the bench. Speaking on Thursday, Le Bris said he was pleased with the experienced winger’s progress in training but that his recovery has not been as straightforward as Angulo and Ta Bi’s.
“At the minute, we have a full group, so I had to make a decision last week,” Le Bris said.
“His trajectory was probably a bit different if you compare with Jocelin and Nilson, who were back as well. It was a re-injury for Bertrand, so probably I needed more time to be comfortable with his selection."I had this conversation with him yesterday, and I was clear and honest. This week, it was more consistent, I think. It's not easy to manage a re-injury and it was a new injury for him as well. In a career, sometimes you have an ankle injury and then a re-injury, so you know exactly what is the timeline and so on. For him, with his knee, it was totally new. Because it was a re-injury, I think it was important to be a bit more cautious and this week was much, much better.”
Sunderland XI: Roefs; Geertruida, Mukiele, Alderete, Reinildo; Xhaka, Sadiki, Le Fee; Hume, Angulo, Brobbey
Subs: Ellborg, Cirkin, O’Nien, Mayenda, Isidor, Talbi, Ta Bi, Diarra, Rigg
Le Bris explains Sunderland’s plans for Jocelin Ta Bi
In his pre-match press conference, Le Bris confirmed that the club were not planning to send Jocelin Ta Bi out on loan next season.
“It's more the case [part of our short-term thinking],” Le Bris said.
“Yeah, he's really inexperienced and his previous culture was really short - even in Israel it was a really short experience [at senior level]. So he is talented with the attributes of a winger and it's rare. After that, we'll have to decide a bit later about the starting line-up and the subs we'll have to adjust around the starters.
“For a winger, in general, the forwards, it's often easier to get minutes at the end of a game. So, you can, through the season, progressively you can get more experiences without starting games, which is more difficult and more demanding. And it's probably a bit different for a midfielder, a defender, a goalkeeper, for example, or the striker sometimes. But for a winger, it's possible. At the minute, it's more or less the idea we have for Jocelin.”
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