Sunderland finish their pre-season campaign with a weekend double header
Sunderland conclude their pre-season campaign this weekend with fixtures against FC Augsburg and Rayo Vallecano, two games that will give us some final clues before the Premier League campaign begins.
Exactly how Sunderland are going to manage the two games isn't yet clear, though it seems likely that head coach Régis Le Bris will look to give 90 minutes at some stage to the players in contention to make the squad next weekend. A strong squad has headed to Germany, which perhaps suggests that he will name the core of his side for West Ham United's visit in that side. We shouldn't draw too many conclusions from that XI as Le Bris will want to ensure there is enough experience and quality in his team for Rayo Vallecano to compete against La Liga opposition, but the clues will fascinating nevertheless. One week out from the start of the campaign, the shape of Sunderland's starting XI looks mostly locked in. Robin Roefs is the frontrunner in goal, Trai Hume and Dan Ballard near certs to play in front of him. Reinildo will be at left back if another centre half can be recruited, though time is ticking on that front. Granit Xhaka will start, Habib Diarra almost certainly in front of him. Chemsdine Talbi and Simon Adingra out wide, and likely Eliezer Mayenda up front. Some positions remain firmly up for grabs, though. Will Noah Sadiki continue his excellent form and cement his place for next weekend, or will Enzo Le Fée underline his class? Can Marc Guiu make a big enough impression in his debut to make Le Bris think twice on his striker selection for West Ham? Will Reinildo continue at centre back in case he is indeed needed there while the search for another centre back goes on?
This weekend won't give us definitive answers, but we will most certainly have a better idea by the end of it.
The injury situation at Sunderland and what to look out for this weekend
Equally significant will be what this weekend tells us about the injury situation at the club looking ahead to West Ham United.
We know that Luke O'Nien, Aji Alese, Dennis Cirkin, Romaine Mundle and Leo Hjelde are absent for the first month of the season, with Mundle potentially facing a longer spell on the sidelines. What we don't know is whether Wilson Isidor, Chris Rigg and Anthony Patterson will be ready to play some part. Given their lack of recent minutes, it's hard to imagine being in contention to start next weekend but some minutes over the course of the weekend would significantly increase their chances of making the squad and perhaps having a role to play off the bench. Miss out again, and it will clearly be a real race in time to be ready for the opening day, which would leave the bench looking short on real game-changing options.
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