Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray said he will make one or two changes to the team that beat Queens Park Rangers during the week and admitted they may have to "grind out" a result against Bristol City.
The game at the Stadium of Light promises to be an intriguing contest with two in-form teams going up against each other. The Black Cats have picked up 11 points in their last six league matches while Nigel Pearson's side have 12 - only Burnley and Middlesbrough have earned more points.
Sunderland head into the game on the back of an impressive 3-0 victory at freefalling QPR having backed up their 1-0 win over Reading. Mowbray addressed the media on Thursday to provide team news ahead of the Robins' visit and admitted he'll be without five players in total.
Right-back Niall Huggins has been a long-term absentee while Lynden Gooch also misses out. Sunderland will also be without key striker Ross Stewart, midfielder Corry Evans and Elliot Embleton. Speaking ahead of Saturday's game, Mowbray said in his press conference: "We’re trying to manage the players’ workload at the minute and assessing a few – it’s about getting the balance right.
“Niall Huggins was back on the grass, but we’ll be easing him back in with a week’s training. Lynden Gooch will hopefully be ready in another couple of weeks – he’s still in the treatment room, but fingers crossed it won’t be too long before he’s back involved.
“We have the longer-term absentees in Corry Evans, Elliot Embleton and Ross Stewart, but apart from that everyone seems okay. There'll probably be one or two [changes] but there won't be wholesale changes.
"I'm mindful of the fact I'd like to get back to Saturday to Saturday then you can manage wellbeing throughout the week. There are a few knocks, there are a few who don't feel they should train, we're just trying to manage them through.
"It is down to us to find the answers to win at home against a team who will make it difficult but we are confident.
“If we have to grind it out then we will. Hopefully, we have a really good game against Bristol City, it is a dangerous game and one we have to be mindful of.”
Sunderland sit fifth in the Championship as they eye back-to-back promotions. Mowbray has maintained the momentum following his appointment in August after Alex Neil left to join league rivals Stoke City.
Pearson will also have the same squad available that drew with Wigan on Wednesday with Kal Naismith and Tommy Conway absent through injury. Mark Sykes, Nahki Wells and Sam Bell will also be pushing for a return to the starting line-up after they were rested during the week.
Speaking after the Wigan draw, the City manager said on his preparations to take on Sunderland: "They will be in tomorrow (Thursday). It depends on how you do your work. If you talk about work on the pitch is one thing but a lot of the preparation you do anyway will be to do with images you see and feedback we will give players from tonight’s game.
"I’m not a big fan of overloading players with information anyway, it’s about drip-feeding over a sustained period of time which is probably why we’re a bit of a slow burner in terms of how we improve. I would prefer that which hopefully means it has a more lasting effect.
"If you look at the last ten games where we’re unbeaten, we’ve done okay but actually what we’ve done over the two years, players out and bringing players in and trying to build something, I think we’re in a much better position."
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