Alex Neil made one change at Plymouth to the side that began the Good Friday win against Shrewsbury Town at the Stadium of Light. Skipper Corry Evans came into the Black Cats' starting XI, with Lynden Gooch dropped to the bench.
That change meant Luke O'Nien started at left wingback, with Jack Clarke switching to right wingback. There was still no place in the matchday squad for Thorben Hoffmann, Leon Dajaku, and Callum Doyle, who have been suffering from illness recently, while Alex Pritchard was again absent as he recovers from a calf problem.
Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher made two changes, in his case to the side that started the 2-0 defeat at play-off rivals Wycombe Wanderers on Friday. Leading scorer Ryan Hardie returned from injury, while Niall Ennis also came into the side.
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Jordan Garrick and Luke Jephcott made way, and were included amongst the Pilgrims' subs. You can follow all the action as it happens in our live blog here.
Today's teams
Sunderland: Patterson, Winchester, Wright, Cirkin, Clarke, Evans, Matete, Embleton, O'Nien, Broadhead, Stewart
Subs: Burge, Batth, Gooch, Xhemajli, Neil, Hume, Roberts
Plymouth: Cooper, Wilson, Scarr, Gillesphey, Sessegnon, Camara, Houghton, Mayor, Grant, Ennis, Hardie
Subs: Burton, Broom, Garrick, Randell, Law, Jephcott, Crichlow
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