Tony Mowbray named the same starting XI that began Sunderland's draw at Watford going into the international break. With Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms still sidelined through injury, that meant that Alex Pritchard was again deployed as a false nine, with Patrick Roberts and Elliot Embleton playing off him.
Dennis Cirkin returned to training this week after recovering from a hamstring issue but is not yet ready to be included in the squad, with Aji Alese - who scored at Watford - continuing in defence instead. Jewison Bennette was included on the bench despite having limited training on Wearside this week following his long journey from South Korea, where he had been on international duty with Costa Rica.
The one change to the squad saw Mowbray name ex-Preston man Bailey Wright amongst the subs, replacing Trai Hume. Australia defender Wright had missed Sunderland's games at Reading and Watford for family reasons.
READ MORE: Sunderland vs Preston North End LIVE: Full coverage from the Stadium of Light
Preston boss Ryan Lowe made four changes, in his case to the side that began the 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Sheffield United going into the international break. Greg Cunningham, Robbie Brady, Ryan Ledson, and Ched Evans came into the side, in place of Andrew Hughes, Brad Potts, Alistair McCann, and Troy Parrott.
You can follow the game as it happens in our matchday live blog here, with all the analysis and reaction as it happens.
Today's teams
Sunderland: Patterson, O'Nien, Batth, Alese, Gooch, Evans, Neil, Clarke, Roberts, Embleton, Pritchard
Subs: Bass, Dajaku, Diallo, Matete, Wright, Bennette, Ba
Preston North End: Woodman, Storey, Lindsay, Cunningham, Brady, Ledson, Whiteman, Browne, Fernandez, Riis, Evans
Subs: Cornell, Johnson, McCann, Parrott, Woodburn, Diaby, Potts
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