Sunderland will play hosts to Bradford City at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday afternoon looking to bounce back from their 3-1 loss to Portsmouth on Saturday. The Black Cats are currently in the 3rd spot of the League One table, a whopping eight points behind the league leaders, Portsmouth. Hence, they need to get back to winning ways as soon as possible or else risk being dumped out of the title race.
It is even more important for Sunderland to claim a direct promotion spot so that they can play in the English Championship next season. Jack Ross is expected to opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation and might keep changes to a minimum for this encounter against the Robins in midweek.
4-2-3-1 Sunderland Predicted Lineup To Face Bradford City
Defence
Jon McLaughlin will play as Sunderland’s first-choice goalkeeper once again after conceding three goals away at Portsmouth on Saturday. The central defensive pairing of Tom Flanagan and Jack Baldwin should feature at the heart of the Black Cats defence as they look to cope with the absence of Glenn Loovens who will miss out due to suspension. Bryan Oviedo will operate as the left-back while Luke O’Nien gets a start on the right side as a makeshift full-back.
Jack Ross’ side have looked far from convincing defensively in recent weeks after shipping in 6 goals in their last four matches across all competitions. They have not kept a clean sheet in any of their previous four games which would disappoint the Sunderland supporters.
Midfield
Lee Cattermole and Max Power might be unleashed at the centre of the pitch as they would both look to command the midfield by breaking down the opposition attacks.
The trio of Lynden Gooch, George Honeyman and Aiden McGeady will line up ahead of them as they aim to create some good opportunities in the final third of the pitch.
Attack
Josh Maja is expected to spearhead the Black Cats’ attack on Saturday following his heroics against Bristol Rovers last weekend when he scored the winning goal for the Tyne-Wear outfit.
Jerome Sinclair will be available on the bench and could come on during the match against Bradford City if required.
