Sunderland have been forced into a number of changes at Bournemouth
Régis Le Bris has made four changes to his Sunderland XI as his injury-hit squad seek to end their losing run at Bournemouth.
Granit Xhaka returns to the starting XI after his cameo against Fulham last week, meaning that Noah Sadiki pushes further forward. The Sunderland head coach has changed both his wingers, with Jocelin Ta Bi suffering an ankle injury in the Fulham defeat and Nilson Angulo set to be used as an impact substitute. Chemsdine Talbi comes back into the starting XI, while Enzo Le Fée looks set to return to the left flank as part of the reshuffle.
Le Bris’s other two changes come at right back and up front, with Nordi Mukiele and Brian Brobbey ruled out for two to four weeks with calf and groin injuries respectively. Lutsharel Geertruida returns to the starting XI at right back, while up front Le Bris has opted to go with Eliezer Mayenda ahead of Wilson Isidor.
Milan Aleksic is named on the bench for the fist time this season as a result of the injury issues in the squad, having return from a loan in the Polish top tier in January.
Sunderland XI: Roefs; Geertruida, Ballard, Alderete, Hume; Xhaka, Sadiki, Diarra; Talbi, Le Fee; Mayenda
Subs: Ellborg, Rigg, Isidor, O’Nien, Aleksic, H Jones, J Jones, Traore, Angulo
Le Bris: Isidor and Mayenda need time and backing after Brian Brobbey injury
“After the end of the transfer window, you need to reset,” Le Bris said.
“You might have expectations, but if it’s not done, now it’s time to focus on your job. It’s done for both of them. It’s good to have two strikers, even without Brian. We wouldn’t be able to be efficient with just one. They are still learning in this league. Eli is still really young, Wilson is a bit older but still hasn’t played very much in the league. You can’t be mature without getting that experience. It’s a tough position, and you need maturity and those experiences. You need confidence. They are doing well from a behaviour perspective, but on the pitch it has been a bit harder for them. But we keep supporting them.
“We always hope that the best will happen, but you never know. Eli and Wilson are really good people, really well-connected with the group. They are nice guys and they are working hard, but especially as either a goalkeeper or a striker, the end product is so important. The weight on players in those positions is big, and it is not always easy to get to where you need to be in this part of the game. It is part of their learning process, and it is really just a question of time, support and opportunities. The group is small, that is the way we designed it.
“Even if you have a month without playing, you know that your opportunity will come. We have 21 players – so far we didn’t have many injuries, but that can always change, as you saw at the weekend when we had injuries to four players in the same game. The door is open now for other players. We trust those players, even if they have not really played for a few months. You know you will have opportunities – then it is just a case of seizing them or not.”
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